Cost-effectiveness of extended adjuvant letrozole therapy after 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy in postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer.

Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of extended adjuvant letrozole in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer and estrogen or progesterone receptor-positive tumors who had completed 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen.

Study Design: Cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model.

Methods: Using a Markov model, we estimated the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained with extended adjuvant letrozole vs no extended adjuvant therapy.

Clinical implications of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in patients with cancer.

Diarrhea is a common, often dose-limiting toxicity associated with cancer chemotherapy treatment. However, the problem is not well recognized and frequently is not managed appropriately. The primary objectives of the current study were to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID) and describe the clinical consequences of CID on treatment changes.