70% of patients reported that the burden of chemotherapy treatment was almost as much as the burden of the cancer itself

NUTLEY, N.J., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eisai Inc. today announced additional findings from a survey that aimed to shed light on how endometrial cancer (EC) treatment affects patients’ lives beyond the clinic. The survey included 119 U.S.-based patients with EC who received at least one line of chemotherapy which is a standard and important component of the first systemic treatment patients receive for EC, but not the only option available to patients for whom another course of treatment is necessary. The survey results demonstrate the impact that chemotherapy can have on patients and their loved ones, and found that 59% of patients did not feel prepared for its impact on their lives. Further, 71% of patients reported they would prefer not to receive chemotherapy again in the future and 72% said they would feel hopeful if they qualified for a treatment that allowed them to avoid chemotherapy.

Conducted online in collaboration with the Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African-Americans (ECANA), Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the Foundation for Women’s Cancer (FWC) and The Harris Poll, the survey results are being presented during a poster session at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress 2026 (Presentation #1256P). With recent data showing that the incidence of EC increased in the U.S. by approximately 20% between 2002 and 2022, Eisai and its collaborators recognized a growing urgency to uncover insights into the lived experiences of this patient population that could help inform difficult treatment decisions.

“Patients are telling us that the impact of chemotherapy extends well beyond treatment itself – it follows them home, cutting into their valuable time, impacting their families, and affecting their daily lives,” said lead author Ginger J. Gardner, MD, FACOG, Gynecologic Oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Chair, FWC. “As providers, it’s our job to listen, understand how treatment fits into each patient’s life, and treat the whole person, not just the disease.”

Key Findings: The Burden of Chemotherapy

Treatment Experiences

• 70% of patients reported that the burden of chemotherapy treatment was almost as much as the burden of the disease itself.
• Among the key burdens of chemotherapy were the side effects most commonly reported by patients – including hair loss (alopecia) which was experienced by 95% of patients, followed by fatigue (93%), nausea/vomiting (82%), having trouble concentrating or remembering things (76%), and muscle soreness/leg cramps (76%).
• Of patients who received multiple lines of chemotherapy (n=64)*, 41% reported that their experience of second-line chemotherapy was worse than their first.
  • *Denotes results based on small sample size (n=50-99); should be interpreted as directional only
• Finally, 71% of patients reported that they would prefer not to receive chemotherapy again in the future.

Impact on Daily Life

• Beyond the physical toll, 59% of patients reported that they did not feel prepared for the impact of chemotherapy on their lives.
• In particular, 37% of patients cited “more time required to receive treatment” as a drawback of chemotherapy, compared with 13–16% for other treatment types tested.
  • Patients reported spending an average of 5 hours for one chemotherapy treatment session from start to finish;
  • With that, 49% of those who received one line of chemotherapy (n=55)* reported that they often feel/felt like they were missing out on life with how much time they spent in chemotherapy treatments, and that number climbed to 69% among patients (n=64)* who had received multiple lines of chemotherapy.
• 1 in 5 patients with a caregiver (21%; n=73)* cited a high burden on their caregiver as one of the biggest drawbacks to treatment with chemotherapy.
  • *Denotes results based on small sample size (n=50-99); should be interpreted as directional only

With this context in mind, it is important that healthcare providers consider patient preferences in their treatment decisions. The survey found that 9 in 10 patients (91%) wanted to know more about different EC treatment options besides chemotherapy, and 92% would prefer a treatment plan that is tailored/personalized to them over a one-size-fits-all approach. Most patients (72%) reported that they would feel hopeful if they qualified for a treatment that allowed them to avoid chemotherapy.

“At Eisai, our human health care mission compels us to listen, and these survey results make clear that patients want more information, more personalized care, and more consideration about what treatment options work best for each person’s life and priorities,” said Michele Randazzo, Senior Director, Oncology and Corporate Communications at Eisai Inc. “We remain deeply committed to learning from and understanding what matters most to this community.” 

Presentation Details

Findings from the survey will be presented as a poster, Endometrial Cancer: Patients Raise Their Voices, at the ESMO Annual Congress 2026, taking place October 23-27, 2026, in Madrid, Spain.

• Presentation: 1256P
• Location: Poster Area – Hall 5
• Date and Time: Monday, October 26, 2026, from 12:00-12:45 CET/7:00AM-7:45AM EDT

Additional results from the survey were previously presented at the 2026 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.

About the Survey

The Endometrial Cancer Patient Experience Survey was conducted online within the United States between April 21 and July 7, 2025, by The Harris Poll on behalf of Eisai Inc. in collaboration with ECANA, FORCE, and FWC. A total of 571 individuals were recruited to participate through a Harris Poll affiliate and through ECANA’s patient list, of whom 484 underwent eligibility screening (participation rate = 85%). Eligible respondents were ≥18 years of age, assigned female at birth, residents of the United States, diagnosed by a healthcare provider with uterine/endometrial/womb cancer and had received at least one line of prior chemotherapy. Of the 484 who underwent eligibility screening, 119 met the criteria for survey completion and subsequent data analysis (ECANA patient list, n=21; Harris Poll affiliate, n=98).

Select demographic and clinical characteristics of survey respondents included:

• Median age: 59 years
• Race/ethnicity: 61% White, 22% Hispanic, 16% Black/African American, 1% Asian
• Mean time from first experiencing symptoms to EC diagnosis: 3 years
• Treatment history (ever received): chemotherapy (100%), surgery (93%), radiation therapy (85%), immunotherapy (50%), oral targeted therapy (42%), hormonal therapy (40%)
• 54% received multiple prior lines of chemotherapy; 46% received one prior line of chemotherapy

Raw data were not weighted and are therefore only representative of the individuals who completed the survey. For this study, the patient sample data are accurate to within ±8.9 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

About Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer begins in the inner lining of the uterus, which is known as the endometrium, and is the most common type of cancer in the uterus. More than 90% of uterine body cancers occur in the endometrium. In the U.S., it is estimated there will be approximately 68,270 patients diagnosed with uterine body cancer and approximately 14,450 patient deaths from the disease in 2026. Globally, endometrial cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women and the 15th most common cancer overall. Despite these figures, endometrial cancer is severely underfunded relative to its rapidly increasing mortality rate. Following primary treatment, patients face a risk of their cancer returning, often as distant metastasis, which is associated with poorer outcomes.

About Eisai  

Eisai’s Corporate Concept is “to give first thought to patients and people in the daily living domain, and to increase the benefits that health care provides.” Under this Concept [also known as our human health care (hhc) Concept], we aim to effectively achieve social good in the form of relieving anxiety over health and reducing health disparities. With a global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to create and deliver innovative products to target diseases with high unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology. 

In addition, our continued commitment to the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which is a target (3.3) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is demonstrated by our work on various activities together with global partners. 

For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com (for global headquarters: Eisai Co., Ltd.), us.eisai.com (for U.S. headquarters: Eisai Inc.) or www.eisai.eu (for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand headquarters: Eisai Europe Ltd.), and connect with us on Twitter (U.S. and global) and LinkedIn (for U.S. and EMEA). 

©2026 Eisai Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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