Impacts of Hydrocodone Rescheduling on Prescription Opioid Use Among Older Breast Cancer Patients

Oregon Convention Center 

Introduction: The 2014 rescheduling of hydrocodone aimed to reduce opioid misuse, but its impact on cancer patient prescriptions is under-researched. This study examines the effects of this policy change on opioid prescriptions in older breast cancer patients.
Methods: We analyzed SEER-Medicare data for female patients aged 65+ diagnosed with invasive breast cancer (2011-2018), focusing on hydrocodone and other opioid prescriptions within one year post-diagnosis. Logistic regression models were used, adjusting for demographics, clinical characteristics, and time trends.
Results: Of 79,899 patients, 45.3% received hydrocodone and 47.7% other opioids. The multivariable logistic regression showed that post-rescheduling, hydrocodone prescriptions decreased significantly (OR=0.78, p<0.001), while non-hydrocodone opioid prescriptions increased (OR=1.23, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The rescheduling led to reduced hydrocodone prescriptions among older breast cancer patients but increased non-hydrocodone opioid prescriptions, indicating a shift in prescribing patterns. This highlights the effects of policy changes on prescription behavior in oncology.

policy change

breast cancer

SEER-Medicare

opioid use

oncology

large observational data 

Health Policy Statistics Section