TY - JOUR AU - Ni, Chen-Xu AU - Lu, Wen-Jie AU - Ni, Min AU - Huang, Fang AU - Li, Dong-Jie AU - Shen, Fu-Ming PY - 2023 DA - 2023/8/31 TI - Advanced Messaging Intervention for Medication Adherence and Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Cancer: Randomized Controlled Trial JO - JMIR Cancer SP - e44612 VL - 9 KW - 5G messaging KW - fifth-generation KW - medication adherence KW - patients with cancer KW - clinical pharmacists KW - randomized controlled trial AB - Background: Medication adherence is crucial for improving clinical outcomes in the treatment of patients with cancer. The lack of adherence and adverse drug reactions can reduce the effectiveness of cancer therapy including the quality of life. The commonly used intervention methods for medication adherence continue to evolve, and the age of fifth-generation (5G) messaging has arrived. Objective: In this study, we conducted a prospective, pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of 5G messaging on medication adherence and clinical outcomes among patients with cancer in China. Methods: The research population was patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer undergoing pemetrexed chemotherapy who require regular folic acid (FA) and vitamin B12 supplements. The intervention and control groups were assigned to 5G messaging and second-generation (2G) messaging, respectively. The patients’ medication adherence and quality of life were assessed at baseline and 1-month and 3-month time points. Moreover, the chemotherapy-related hematologic or nonhematologic toxicities, as well as the serum levels of FA and vitamin B12, were measured. Results: Of the 567 patients assessed for eligibility between January and May 2021, a total of 154 (27.2%) patients were included. Overall, 80 were randomized to the control group and 74 to the intervention group. The odds of adherence in the 5G messaging intervention group were significantly higher than the control group at the 1-month (62/69, 90% vs 56/74, 76%; adjusted odds ratio 2.67, 95% CI 1.02-7.71) and 3-month (50/60, 83% vs 48/64, 75%; adjusted odds ratio 2.36, 95% CI 1.00-5.23) time points. Correspondingly, the FA and vitamin B12 serum levels of patients in the 5G messaging group were higher than those of the control group. Regarding hematologic toxicities, only the incidence of leukopenia in the intervention group was lower than that in the control group (25/80, 31% in the control group vs 12/74, 16% in the intervention group; P=.04). There were no differences in nonhematologic toxicities and quality of life between the 2 groups. Conclusions: In summary, we conclude that compared with conventional 2G text-based messaging, a 5G messaging intervention can better improve medication adherence and clinical outcome among patients with cancer. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200058188; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=164489 SN - 2369-1999 UR - https://cancer.jmir.org/2023/1/e44612 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/44612 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37651170 DO - 10.2196/44612 ID - info:doi/10.2196/44612 ER -