Pharmacy professor conducts breast cancer research survey

October 4, 2016 | Pharmacy |

Dr. Landry Kamdem, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Harding University, and a research team of University pharmacy students are conducting a survey to identify reasons for medication nonadherence in breast cancer patients and survivors. Kamdem and his team are seeking 500-1,500 participants to take their survey.

Kamdem’s project will focus on hormonal therapies, documenting any prevalent side effects reported by patients and looking into overall cost of treatments to determine whether these issues contribute to noncompliance.

“My job as a pharmaceutical scientist is to make sure we optimize the uses of medication,” Kamdem said. “And we do that by conducting research.”

Kamdem’s team consists of seven University pharmacy students including five graduate and two undergraduate students. Sara Goodson of Magnolia, Arkansas, and Morgan Moody of Newport, Arkansas, are graduate student volunteers on Kamdem’s project. They said their responsibilities include interviewing women who had or have breast cancer.

“It has been really cool getting to hear other people’s stories,” Goodson said. “Honestly, in pharmacy school, we don’t ever get to deal with this kind of stuff, so it’s a different side of pharmacy that I find interesting. It’s been really cool to be exposed to this kind of work.”

Participants of the survey will be questioned about the type of breast cancer they had or have, co-medication, ability to pay for treatment, adverse drug reactions and medication adherence. Participants will be asked about the type of hormonal therapeutic drug they are taking such as tamoxifen, letrozole, exemestane, anastrozole, fulvestrant and dietary/herbal supplements.

This project is not the first Kamdem has orchestrated in breast cancer research. In March, the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published Kamdem’s previous pharmacogenetic research that studied how certain medications react in patients with specific genes — research that no one else has ever done in the world.

“Over the last 10 years of my life, I have primarily been working on better understanding drugs,” Kamdem said. “Now it’s important to know the other half of the story. How are the women who are receiving the drugs feeling about those drugs?”

Moody said being a part of a big picture project like this one under Kamdem has been beneficial. She said that Kamdem is a great teacher, and many students admire his work in and out of the classroom.

“It’s not just about his teaching us the material that he knows — it’s more than that,” Moody said. “He’s passionate about it, and he wants to make sure we understand it. He presents it in such a godly manner that everyone looks up to him.”

Kamdem explained he is able to help others by transforming himself to be more like Christ. He said his motivation comes from a desire to show Jesus’ love to people who do not know him and that they might have an encounter with him.

“It’s all about God’s gift,” Kamdem said. “Once we know we have to go back to the source, we use our talent to build the kingdom of God. This talent can be applied to any kind of population whether that be poor people living in Africa, St. Jude children suffering with catastrophic illnesses, or breast cancer patients in Indianapolis. That has always been my motivation—to help them with this talent.”

Kamdem said the purpose of the research survey is to add the patient’s viewpoint into the equation. According to Kamdem, once patient stories are combined with the results found in the lab, researchers will be able to better understand how to help women with breast cancer.

“I think that this survey will bring, for the first time, real stories from women who actually had breast cancer. Hopefully it will open up a conversation about how we should proceed to help them,” Kamdem said. “As a pharmaceutical scientist, we always want to find scientific answers in genes. But the goal is not just to find answers in genes — the goal is to help these women. We want to be the catalyzer of this.”

Kamdem and his team are conducting the survey in collaboration with Dr. Laura Hutchins at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. They will continue the study until reaching a minimum number of 500 participants.

For more information, contact Kamdem at 501-279-4837 or lkamdem@harding.edu, and join the Facebook page, “Breast Cancer Study: Help wanted.”