%0 Journal Article
%T Patterns of Prescription Medication Use Before Diagnosis of Early Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Population-Based Descriptive Study.
%A Cheng V
%A Sayre EC
%A Cheng V
%A Garg R
%A Gill S
%A Farooq A
%A De Vera MA
%J JMIR Cancer
%V 10
%N 0
%D 2024 Jul 12
%M 38996335
暂无%R 10.2196/50402
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Colorectal cancer (CRC) is estimated to be the fourth most common cancer diagnosis in Canada (except for nonmelanoma skin cancers) and the second and third leading cause of cancer-related death in male and female individuals, respectively.<BR><B>OBJECTIVE: </B>The rising incidence of early age-onset colorectal cancer (EAO-CRC; diagnosis at less than 50 years) calls for a better understanding of patients' pathway to diagnosis. Therefore, we evaluated patterns of prescription medication use before EAO-CRC diagnosis.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>We used linked administrative health databases in British Columbia (BC), Canada, to identify individuals diagnosed with EAO-CRC between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as "cases"), along with cancer-free controls (1:10), matched by age and sex. We identified all prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies during the year prior to diagnosis and used the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification system Level 3 to group prescriptions according to the drug class. A parallel assessment was conducted for individuals diagnosed with average age-onset CRC (diagnosis at age 50 years and older).<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>We included 1001 EAO-CRC cases (n=450, 45% female participants; mean 41.0, SD 6.1 years), and 12,989 prescriptions were filled in the year before diagnosis by 797 (79.7%) individuals. Top-filled drugs were antidepressants (first; n=1698, 13.1%). Drugs for peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (third; n=795, 6.1%) were more likely filled by EAO-CRC cases than controls (odds ratio [OR] 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.7) and with more frequent fills (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.7-1.9). We noted similar patterns for topical agents for hemorrhoids and anal fissures, which were more likely filled by EAO-CRC cases than controls (OR 7.4, 95% CI 5.8-9.4) and with more frequent fills (OR 15.6, 95% CI 13.1-18.6).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>We observed frequent prescription medication use in the year before diagnosis of EAO-CRC, including for drugs to treat commonly reported symptoms of EAO-CRC.