Patient-Reported Quality of Life 6 Years After Breast Cancer

This cohort study assesses quality-of-life trajectories up to 6 years after breast cancer diagnosis among individuals in France.

Investigating sexual health after breast cancer by longitudinal assessment of patient-reported outcomes

BACKGROUND

Sexual concerns are a major unaddressed need among survivors of breast cancer (BC) with significant negative effects on quality of life. We longitudinally analyzed sexual health over time, using patient-reported outcomes.

METHODS

Patients with stage I-III BC prospectively included from the CANcer TOxicity cohort (CANTO) provided data at diagnosis, then 1, 2, and 4 years afterward. Sexual concerns outcomes included poor body image (score ≤91/100), poor sexual functioning (≤16/100), poor sexual enjoyment (≤66/100), and sexual inactivity (EORTC QLQ-B23). Multivariate generalized estimating equation models assessed associations with sexual concerns after diagnosis, adjusting for age, sociodemographic, tumor, treatment, and clinical characteristics.

RESULTS

Nearly 78.1% among 7895 patients reported at least one sexual concern between diagnosis and 4 years' follow-up. Over time, the proportion of patients reporting sexual concerns either increased or remained constant with diagnosis. Less than half (46%, range 11.4-57) of the patients with sexual concerns reported the use of supportive care strategies, including gynecological or psychological consultations (range 11.4-57.4). Factors consistently associated with sexual concerns up to 4 years after diagnosis included already reporting the same concern at diagnosis [odds ratio (OR)poor body image 3.48 [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.11-3.89]; ORsexual inactivity 9.94 (95% CI 8.84-11.18), ORpoor sexual function 9.75 (95% CI 8.67-10.95), ORpoorsexual enjoyment 3.96 (95% CI 3.34-4.69)], endocrine therapy use [ORpoor body image 1.15 (95% CI 1.01-1.31); ORsexual inactivity 1.19 (95% CI 1.02-1.39), ORpoor sexual function 1.17 (95% CI 1.01-1.37), ORpoor sexual enjoyment 1.23 (95% CI 1.00-1.53)], and depression [ORpoor body image 2.00 (95% CI 1.72-2.34); ORsexual inactivity 1.66 (95% CI 1.40-1.97), ORpoor sexual function 1.69 (95% CI 1.43-2.00), ORpoor sexual enjoyment 1.94 (95% CI 1.50-2.51)]. Outcome-specific associations were also identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Sexual concerns seem frequent, persistent, and insufficiently addressed. Pretreatment concerns, endocrine therapy, and emotional distress are commonly associated factors. A proactive evaluation of sexual health across the care continuum is needed, to promptly identify patients suitable for multidisciplinary counseling, referral, and supportive interventions.

Safety of pregnancy after breast cancer in young women with hormone receptor-positive disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Despite increasing evidence on the safety of pregnancy after anticancer treatments in breast cancer survivors, many physicians and patients remain concerned about a potential risk of pregnancy specifically in the case of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase and Cochrane library with no language or date restriction up to 31 March 2023 was carried out. To be included, articles had to be retrospective and prospective case-control and cohort studies as well as clinical trials comparing survival outcomes of premenopausal women with or without a pregnancy after prior diagnosis of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were the outcomes of interest. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Study protocol is registered in PROSPERO (n. CRD42023394232).

RESULTS

Out of 7796 screened studies, 8 were eligible to be included in the final analysis. A total of 3805 patients with hormone receptor-positive invasive early breast cancer were included in these studies, of whom 1285 had a pregnancy after breast cancer diagnosis. Median follow-up time ranged from 3.8 to 15.8 years and was similar in the pregnancy and non-pregnancy cohorts. In three studies (n = 987 patients) reporting on DFS, no difference was observed between patients with and those without a subsequent pregnancy (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.75-1.24, P = 0.781). In the six studies (n = 3504 patients) reporting on OS, patients with a pregnancy after breast cancer had a statistically significant better OS than those without a pregnancy (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.27-0.77, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review and meta-analysis of retrospective cohort studies provides updated evidence that having a pregnancy in patients with prior history of hormone receptor-positive invasive early breast cancer appears safe without detrimental effect on prognosis.

Chemotherapy-Related Amenorrhea and Quality of Life Among Premenopausal Women With Breast Cancer

Importance

Younger survivors of breast cancer frequently report more treatment-related symptoms, mostly related to the menopausal transition.

Objective

To assess factors associated with chemotherapy-related amenorrhea (CRA) and to evaluate its association with long-term quality of life (QOL).

Design, Setting, and Participants

The prospective, longitudinal Cancer Toxicities Study, a multicenter French cohort study, includes women with a diagnosis of stage I to III breast cancer and collects data approximately yearly after diagnosis. The current study reports outcomes up to 4 years after diagnosis for participants enrolled from 2012 to 2017. Participants included premenopausal women younger than 50 years treated with chemotherapy and not receiving adjuvant ovarian function suppression. Data analysis was performed from September 2021 to June 2023.

Exposures

Clinical, socioeconomic, tumor, and treatment characteristics assessed at diagnosis (for the analysis of factors associated with CRA) and persistent CRA (for the QOL analysis).

Main Outcomes and Measures

The main outcome of interest was CRA at year 1 (Y1), year 2 (Y2), and year 4 (Y4) after diagnosis. Generalized estimating equations assessed associations of exposure variables with CRA. In the QOL analysis, QOL at Y4 (assessed with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires C30 and BR23) was the outcome of interest. Multivariable random-effect mixed models assessed the association of persistent CRA (ie, never recovering menses after treatment) with QOL.

Results

Among 1636 women, the mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 42.2 (5.6) years. Overall, 1242 of 1497 women (83.0%) reported CRA at Y1, 959 of 1323 women (72.5%) reported it at Y2, and 599 of 906 women (66.1%) reported it at Y4. Older age vs 18 to 34 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR] for 35 to 39 years, 1.84 [95% CI, 1.32 to 2.56]; adjusted OR for 40 to 44 years, 5.90 [95% CI, 4.23 to 8.24]; and adjusted OR for ≥45 years, 21.29 [95% CI, 14.34 to 31.61]) and receipt of adjuvant tamoxifen (adjusted OR, 1.97 [95% CI, 1.53 to 2.53]) were associated with higher likelihood of CRA. In the QOL analysis, 416 of 729 women (57.1%) had persistent CRA. However, late menses recovery among women aged 18 to 34 years with no menses at Y2 were reported by 11 of 21 women (52.4%) between Y2 and Y4. Persistent CRA was associated with worse insomnia (mean difference vs recovery at any time, 9.9 points [95% CI, 3.2 to 16.5 points]; P = .004), systemic therapy-related adverse effects (mean difference, 3.0 points [95% CI, 0.2 to 5.8 points]; P = .04), and sexual functioning (mean difference, -9.2 points [95% CI, -14.3 to -4.1 points]; P < .001) at Y4.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study of premenopausal women with breast cancer, persistent CRA was common, although some women recovered menses late, and was associated with worse long-term QOL. This study can help inform risk communication, personalized counseling, and early supportive care referrals for such patients.

Insights adjusting for non-adherence in randomized clinical trials: a reanalysis of an adjuvant trial of tamoxifen duration in early breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Several randomized clinical trials provide evidence of the survival benefit of extended adjuvant tamoxifen in women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive early breast cancer (BC). However, non-adherence may lead to underestimate treatment effects using intention to treat (ITT) methods. We reanalyzed a randomized trial using contemporary statistical methods adjusting for non-adherence.

METHODS

The TAM01 study was a phase 3 trial including women with early BC, who had completed 2-3 years of adjuvant tamoxifen between 1986 and 1995. Participants were randomly assigned to continue tamoxifen up to 10 years or to discontinue the treatment at randomization. Invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using marginal structural models (MSM) and rank preserving structural failure time model (RPSFTM).

RESULTS

Of 3830 patients enrolled, 2485 were randomized to extended tamoxifen, and 1345 to treatment discontinuation. The 10-year non-adherence rate in the extended group was 27.2%. Among women with ER-positive BC (n = 2402), extended tamoxifen was associated with a 45% and 21% relative improvement in iDFS by MSM and RPSFTM, respectively (Hazard Ratio (HR), 0.55; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 0.48-0.64 and HR, 0.79; 95%CI, 0.67-0.95, respectively), a considerable greater benefit than in the ITT analysis (HR, 0.90; 95%CI, 0.81-0.99). The OS reanalysis revealed a substantial benefit of extended tamoxifen (MSM: HR, 0.70; 95%CI, 0.59-0.83; RPSFTM: HR, 0.85; 95%CI, 0.67-1.04), compared to the ITT analyses (HR, 0.94; 95%CI, 0.84-1.07).

CONCLUSION

This analysis emphasizes both the importance of adherence to hormonotherapy in hormone-receptor positive early BC and the usefulness of more complex statistical analyses.

Adjuvant endocrine therapy uptake, toxicity, quality of life, and prediction of early discontinuation

BACKGROUND

Many patients receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) for breast cancer experience side effects and reduced quality of life (QoL) and discontinue ET. We sought to describe these issues and develop a prediction model of early discontinuation of ET.

METHODS

Among patients with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative stage I-III breast cancer of the Cancer Toxicities cohort (NCT01993498) who were prescribed adjuvant ET between 2012 and 2017, upon stratification by menopausal status, we evaluated adjuvant ET patterns including treatment change and patient-reported discontinuation and ET-associated toxicities and impact on QoL. Independent variables included clinical and demographic features, toxicities, and patient-reported outcomes. A machine-learning model to predict time to early discontinuation was trained and evaluated on a held-out validation set.

RESULTS

Patient-reported discontinuation rate of the first prescribed ET at 4 years was 30% and 35% in 4122 postmenopausal and 2087 premenopausal patients, respectively. Switching to a new ET was associated with higher symptom burden, poorer QoL, and higher discontinuation rate. Early discontinuation rate of adjuvant ET before treatment completion was 13% in postmenopausal and 15% in premenopausal patients. The early discontinuation model obtained a C index of 0.62 in the held-out validation set. Many aspects of QoL, most importantly fatigue and insomnia (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL questionnaire 30), were associated with early discontinuation.

CONCLUSION

Tolerability and adherence to ET remains a challenge for patients who switch to a second ET. An early discontinuation model using patient-reported outcomes identifies patients likely to discontinue their adjuvant ET. Improved management of toxicities and novel more tolerable adjuvant ETs are needed for maintaining patients on treatment.

Implementing a PROACTive Care Pathway to Empower and Support Survivors of Breast Cancer

PURPOSE

Optimal comprehensive survivorship care is insufficiently delivered. To increase patient empowerment and maximize the uptake of multidisciplinary supportive care strategies to serve all survivorship needs, we implemented a proactive survivorship care pathway for patients with early breast cancer at the end of primary treatment phase.

METHODS

Pathway components included (1) a personalized survivorship care plan (SCP), (2) face-to-face survivorship education seminars and personalized consultation for supportive care referrals (Transition Day), (3) a mobile app delivering personalized education and self-management advice, and (4) decision aids for physicians focused on supportive care needs. A mixed-methods process evaluation was performed according to the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance framework including administrative data review, pathway experience survey (patient, physician, and organization), and focus group. The primary objective was patient-perceived satisfaction with the pathway (predefined progression criteria for pathway continuation ≥70%).

RESULTS

Over 6 months, 321 patients were eligible for the pathway and received a SCP and 98 (30%) attended the Transition Day. Among 126 patients surveyed, 77 (66.1%) responded. 70.1% received the SCP, 51.9% attended the Transition Day, and 59.7% accessed the mobile app. 96.1% of patients were very or completely satisfied with the overall pathway, whereas perceived usefulness was 64.8% for the SCP, 90% for the Transition Day, and 65.2% for the mobile app. Pathway implementation seemed to be positively experienced by physicians and the organization.

CONCLUSION

Patients were satisfied with a proactive survivorship care pathway, and the majority reported that its components were useful in supporting their needs. This study can inform the implementation of survivorship care pathways in other centers.

The Future of Breast Cancer Research in the Survivorship Field

Prevalence of survivors of breast cancer has been steadily increasing in the last 20 years. Currently, more than 90% of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are expected to be alive at 5 years from diagnosis thanks to early detection and breakthrough innovations in multimodal treatment strategies. Alongside this advancement in clinical outcomes, survivors of breast cancer might experience several specific challenges and present with unique needs. Survivorship trajectories after diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can be significantly impacted by long-lasting and severe treatment-related side effects, including physical problems, psychological distress, fertility issues in young women, and impaired social and work reintegration, which add up to patients' individual risk of cancer recurrence and second primary malignancies. Alongside cancer-specific sequelae, survivors still present with general health needs, including management of chronic preexisting or ensuing conditions. Survivorship care should implement high-quality, evidence-based strategies to promptly screen, identify, and address survivors' needs in a comprehensive way and minimize the impact of severe treatment sequelae, preexisting comorbidities, unhealthy lifestyles, and risk of recurrence on quality of life. This narrative review focuses on core areas of survivorship care and discuss the state of the art and future research perspectives in key domains including selected long-term side effects, surveillance for recurrences and second cancers, well-being promotion, and specific survivors' needs.

Cognitive change in breast cancer patients up to 2 years after diagnosis

BACKGROUND

Using the large nationwide French, national, multicenter, prospective cancer and toxicities (CANTO) cohort, we assessed cognitive functioning change after cancer treatments in a subgroup of breast cancer (BC) patients.

METHODS

We included patients with newly diagnosed invasive stage I-III BC enrolled in the CANTO substudy focused on cognitive evaluation and healthy control women matched for age and education. Episodic and working memory, executive functions, processing speed, attention, self-report cognitive difficulties (SRCD), fatigue, anxiety and depression were assessed with neuropsychological tests and self-report questionnaires before treatment (baseline) and approximately 1 (year 1) and 2 years (year 2) after diagnosis. We used linear mixed models to study changes in cognition and tested the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy.

RESULTS

We studied 276 localized BC patients (62% chemotherapy) compared with 135 healthy controls (HC). After adjustment, patients had lower baseline working memory, processing speed, and attention scores than HC (P ≤ .001), and the difference remained statistically significant over follow-up for working memory and processing speed. Executive function scores were similar between groups at baseline but decreased at year 1 among patients compared with HC (Pchange = .006). This decrease in chemotherapy patients was statistically significant compared with HC scores (Pchange < .001). After adjustment, SRCD were similar between BC patients and HC at baseline but increased in patients after treatment at year 1 (Pchange = .002).

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive difficulties are an important concern in BC patients, starting at diagnosis. Cancer treatments induce executive function decline and SRCD, which decrease over follow-up.

ESMO Expert Consensus Statements on Cancer Survivorship: promoting high-quality survivorship care and research in Europe

BACKGROUND

The increased number of cancer survivors and the recognition of physical and psychosocial challenges, present from cancer diagnosis through active treatment and beyond, led to the discipline of cancer survivorship.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Herein, we reflected on the different components of survivorship care, existing models and priorities, in order to facilitate the promotion of high-quality European survivorship care and research.

RESULTS

We identified five main components of survivorship care: (i) physical effects of cancer and chronic medical conditions; (ii) psychological effects of cancer; (iii) social, work and financial effects of cancer; (iv) surveillance for recurrences and second cancers; and (v) cancer prevention and overall health and well-being promotion. Survivorship care can be delivered by structured care models including but not limited to shared models integrating primary care and oncology services. The choice of the care model to be implemented has to be adapted to local realities. High-quality care should be expedited by the generation of: (i) focused and shared European recommendations, (ii) creation of tools to facilitate implementation of coordinated care and (iii) survivorship educational programs for health care teams and patients. The research agenda should be defined with the participation of health care providers, researchers, policy makers, patients and caregivers. The following patient-centered survivorship research areas were highlighted: (i) generation of a big data platform to collect long-term real-world data in survivors and healthy controls to (a) understand the resources, needs and preferences of patients with cancer, and (b) understand biological determinants of survivorship issues, and (ii) develop innovative effective interventions focused on the main components of survivorship care.

CONCLUSIONS

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) can actively contribute in the efforts of the oncology community toward (a) promoting the development of high-quality survivorship care programs, (b) providing educational material and (c) aiding groundbreaking research by reflecting on priorities and by supporting research networking.

Work outcomes of breast cancer survivors who returned to work after treatment: CANTO cohort

Background

As survival rates among breast cancer patients improve there is an increasing need to address breast cancer survivors’ (BCS) issues, professional life being a key aspect. Return to work (RTW) of BCS has been largely studied, but studies on job maintenance and its determinants are scarce. We aim to study job maintenance after RTW and the associated factors among BCS.

Methods

We used data from the CANTO cohort, a French prospective cohort of BCS. We included 1643 BCS aged <57 at diagnosis (dx) who returned to work two years after dx. We excluded self-employed BCS. Using multinomial logistic models, we assessed the association between activity status one year after they return to work. (i.e. active, sick leave, or unemployed, retired or invalidity) and sociodemographic, clinical, health status and work-related factors.

Results

Overall, 87% of BCS were active, 10% were on sick leave and 3% were on unemployment, retirement or invalidity one year after they return to work. In the fully adjusted model being on sick leave was associated with stage III at dx (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.11-3.22), being severely fatigued at the moment of returning to work (OR: 1.53, 1.04-2.27), and having workplace accommodations (OR: 1.79, 1.14-2.81). The unemployed, retired, invalidity status was negatively associated with professional life being more than or as important as one’s personal life (OR: 0.51, 0.26-0.98) and being <50 years old (OR: 0.51, 0.27-0.96), and positively associated with having a fixed-term contract (OR: 2.69, 1.39-5.18) and working for a small company (OR: 2.73, 1.24-6.02).

Conclusions

A non-negligible proportion of BCS are non-active one year after they return to work. While clinical factors are associated with sick leave, work related factors are associated with the unemployed, retired, and invalidity status. RTW should not be regarded as the ultimate goal and future policies should focus on ensuring people are ready to return to work and maintain their jobs.

Key messages

• A non-negligible proportion of breast cancer survivors are non-active one year after they return to work.

• Future policies should ensure job maintenance along with return to work.

Perceived discrimination at work: examining social, health and work-related factors as determinants among breast cancer survivors – evidence from the prospective CANTO cohort

Background

We assessed the prevalence of self-reported perceived discrimination in the workplace after the end of treatment among breast cancer (BC) survivors and studied its association with social, health-related and work-related factors.

Methods

We used data from a French prospective cohort (CANcer TOxicities) including women diagnosed with stage I–III BC. Our analysis included 2130 women who were employed, <57 years old at BC diagnosis and were working 2 years afterwards. We assessed the association between social, health-related and work-related factors and perceived discrimination in the workplace using logistic regression models.

Results

Overall, 26% of women reported perceived discrimination in the workplace after the end of treatment. Women working for a small company, in the public sector or with better overall health status were less likely to report perceived discrimination. Women who benefited from easing dispositions at their workplace, who did not feel supported by their colleagues and those who returned to work because of fear of job loss were more likely to report perceived discrimination.

Conclusions

One in four BC survivors perceives discrimination in the workplace. Health and work-related factors are associated with increased likelihood of reporting perceived discrimination.

Trial registration number

NCT01993498.

Contraceptive Use in Premenopausal Women With Early Breast Cancer

IMPORTANCE

As life span has increased among patients with cancer, survivorship has become an important component of breast cancer care. Among survivorship concerns, adequate contraceptive counseling is needed for premenopausal patients who are not seeking to become pregnant.

OBJECTIVE

To examine contraceptive use and chosen methods and to assess factors associated with contraceptive use over time in patients with early breast cancer.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

The Cancer Toxicity (CANTO) study was a multicenter nationwide prospective cohort study that enrolled women diagnosed with stage I to stage III breast cancer in France between March 2012 and December 2017. This analysis included 2900 premenopausal women who were 50 years of age or younger at diagnosis. Data were analyzed from July 2020 to July 2022.

EXPOSURES

Contraceptive use and method at diagnosis, shortly after the end of primary treatment (year 1), and during follow-up (year 2).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Contraceptive use and methods were longitudinally evaluated at diagnosis, year 1, and year 2 after breast cancer diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of clinical, socioeconomic, treatment, adverse effect, and patient-reported outcome variables with contraceptive use after diagnosis.

RESULTS

A total of 2900 patients (mean [SD] age, 43.1 [5.6] years) were included in the analysis; 2050 of 2894 women (70.8%) received chemotherapy, and 2305 of 2880 women (80.0%) received endocrine therapy. After diagnosis, 1182 of 2625 patients (45.0%) at year 1 and 1553 of 2363 patients (65.7%) at year 2 reported consulting with a gynecologist in the previous year. At diagnosis, 1487 of 2744 patients (54.2%) reported contraceptive use, with most patients (921 of 1470 women [62.7%]) using hormonal methods. The use of contraception significantly decreased after diagnosis (911 of 2342 patients [38.9%] at year 1 and 808 of 1961 patients [41.2%] at year 2; P < .001 for trend), when most patients (848 of 900 women [94.2%] at year 1 and 767 of 805 women [95.3%] at year 2) reported use of nonhormonal methods; these methods were primarily reversible mechanical approaches (copper intrauterine devices: 656 of 848 patients [77.4%] at year 1 and 577 of 767 patients [75.2%] at year 2; male condoms: 115 of 848 patients [13.6%] at year 1 and 110 of 767 patients [14.3%] at year 2). In the multivariable model, factors significantly associated with contraceptive use at year 1 included using contraception at diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.02; 95% CI, 3.15-5.14), being younger (aOR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.07-1.13 per decreasing year), having better sexual function (aOR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07-1.19 per 10-point increment), having children (aOR, 4.21; 95% CI, 1.80-9.86), reporting the presence of leukorrhea (aOR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.03-1.70), receiving tamoxifen treatment alone (aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.01-1.92), and consulting with a gynecologist in the previous year (aOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.02-1.63). Similar factors were associated with contraceptive use at year 2, with the addition of partnered status (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.07-2.44).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Findings from this study support the importance of raising awareness and improving targeted contraceptive counseling for premenopausal women with early breast cancer.

Coffee and tea consumption, patient-reported, and clinical outcomes in a longitudinal study of patients with breast cancer

Background

Higher consumption of coffee and tea has been associated with improved health outcomes in the general population and improved breast cancer (BC) prognosis. This study investigated patterns of coffee and tea consumption and association with patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) and clinical outcomes among survivors of BC.

Methods

The authors included survivors of stage I–III BC enrolled in the CANTO cohort (NCT01993498) that provided post‐treatment assessment of coffee and tea consumption from years 1 to 4 after diagnosis. Group‐based trajectory modeling clustered patients according to daily consumption of coffee and tea. Multivariable mixed models and Cox models examined associations between consumption, PROs and clinical outcomes.

Results

Among 3788 patients, the authors identified four stable patterns of consumption: “Low” (25.8%), “Moderate” (37.6%), “High” (25.3%), and “Very high” (11.3%), corresponding to <1, 2, 3, and ≥ 4 cups of coffee and/or tea per day. Patients in the “Very high” group (vs. “Low”), were more likely to be younger, smokers, with higher monthly income and education. PROs and survival outcomes were similar across the four groups.

Conclusions

Over one in three survivors of BC reported high or very high consumption of coffee and/or tea. The authors found no association between higher consumption of coffee and/or tea, worse PROs and clinical outcomes.

More than 30% of survivors of breast cancer report high post‐diagnostic consumption of coffee and tea. In this study, the authors did not find any detrimental association between higher consumption of coffee and tea and patient‐reported or clinical outcomes.

Informing the development of multidisciplinary interventions to help breast cancer patients return to work: a qualitative study

PURPOSE

Return to work (RTW) after breast cancer (BC) can be a major challenge for patients. Multidisciplinary interventions seem to be effective but the role of digital solutions is under-developed and therefore not evaluated. We explored the preferences, needs, and barriers regarding RTW interventions, including opinions about the use of digital approaches to deliver such interventions.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study based on interviews with 30 patients with BC and 18 healthcare providers in four French regions. Emergent themes were identified using thematic content analysis.

RESULTS

Most providers declared that they did not proactively address RTW with patients, mainly due to having other priorities and a lack of knowledge. The following themes emerged: several development and deployment barriers regarding RTW interventions exist, multidisciplinary interventions are preferred, and there is a need to maintain contact between the patient and workplace during sick leave, including pathways and interlocutors that can facilitate RTW. Participants had mostly positive representations of using digital tools to facilitate RTW; however, fear of loss of human contact and the exacerbation of inequalities were identified as possible risks associated with the development of digital-only interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions blending the needs and preferences of patients with BC and the healthcare system are warranted. A personalized multimodal approach with mixed digital and in-person features has surfaced as a possible solution to address the weaknesses of existing interventions.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Since most women work at the time of diagnosis, it is of particular relevance to build interventions promoting RTW.

Association between physical activity and neoadjuvant chemotherapy completion and pathologic complete response in primary breast cancer: the CANTO study

BACKGROUND

Regular physical activity is associated with improved symptom control in patients with breast cancer but its association with chemotherapy completion or response is unclear.

METHODS

Using a prospective design, 1075 breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy between March 2012 and February 2017 were studied. Physical activity was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire [GPAQ-16], quantified in standardised MET-h/wk. Chemotherapy completion was defined as the proportion of patients completing planned treatment course, requiring dose reduction, or requiring dose delay. Response was evaluated by pathologic complete response (pCR). Associations between physical activity and primary outcomes were assessed using multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS

There was no differences between any chemotherapy completion outcome on the basis of physical activity classification. The percent of patients not completing planned treatment was 5.7% for ≦0.33 MET-h/wk, compared with 6.8% for 0.34-16.65 MET-h/wk, and 4.6% for ≥16.6 MET-h/wk (p = 0.52). No significant relationships were observed between physical activity dose classification and pCR for the overall cohort or upon stratification by clinical subtype.

CONCLUSION

Future studies are required to further investigate the relationship between pre-treatment levels of physical activity and function on treatment completion and response in breast and other cancer populations.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT01993498.

Breast cancer patients' experience and wishes regarding communication on sexual health: the BEROSE study

BEROSE is a single-center observational study, which aimed to determine the proportion of women with breast cancer who received information on sexual health from health professionals throughout their whole care pathway. A total of 318 women with all stages of breast cancer (30% metastatic) and at different time interval from diagnosis (up to 7 years) participated to the survey. Sixty-five percent of women reported that they had not received any information about sexual health over the whole care. Increased awareness among the healthcare professionals and particularly the oncology community is needed to discuss sexual health in women with breast cancer.

Dynamics of Long-Term Patient-Reported Quality of Life and Health Behaviors After Adjuvant Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

We aimed to characterize long-term quality of life (QOL) trajectories among patients with breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and to identify related patterns of health behaviors.

Characterization of Depressive Symptoms Trajectories After Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Women in France

IMPORTANCE

Breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and treatment expose patients to a 5-fold higher risk of depression compared with the general population, with an estimated prevalence of 10% to 25%. A depressive episode in patients with BC has implications for the tolerance of and adherence to treatment, impairing quality of life and reducing life expectancy.

OBJECTIVE

To identify and characterize distinct longitudinal patterns of depressive symptoms in patients with BC from diagnosis to 3 years after treatment.

DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS

The CANTO-DEePRESS (Deeper in the Understanding and Prevention of Depression in Breast Cancer Patients) cohort study included women in the French multicenter CANTO (CANcer TOxicities) cohort study (conducted between March 20, 2012 and December 11, 2018), who were 18 years or older with invasive stage I to III BC and no previous BC treatment. The study aimed to characterize toxicities over a 5-year period following stage I to III primary BC treatment. Assessments of depressive symptoms were performed on a subset of patients with available data at diagnosis and at least 2 other time points. All data were extracted from the CANTO database on October 1, 2020.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was the level of depressive symptoms at each assessment time point measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and depression subscale at BC diagnosis and at 3 to 6, 12, and 36 months after the end of treatment. The group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify trajectory groups, and multinomial logistic regression models were used to characterize the following factors associated with trajectory group affiliation: demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, lifestyle, and quality-of-life data.

RESULTS

A total of 4803 women (mean [SD] age, 56.2 [11.2] years; 2441 patients [50.8%] with stage I BC) were included in the study. Six trajectory groups that described the heterogeneity in the expression of depressive symptoms were identified: noncases with no expression of symptoms (n = 2634 [54.8%]), intermediate worsening (1076 [22.4%]), intermediate improvement (480 [10.0%]), remission (261 [5.4%]), delayed occurrence (200 [4.2%]), and stable depression (152 [3.2%]). HADS-D scores at diagnosis were consistently associated with the 5 depressive trajectory group affiliations, with an estimated higher probability per point increase of experiencing subthreshold or clinically significant depressive symptoms between diagnosis and the 3 years after the end of BC treatment. The higher probabilities ranged from 1.49 (95% CI, 1.43-1.54) for the intermediate worsening group to 10.53 (95% CI, 8.84-12.55) for the stable depression group. Trajectory groups with depressive symptoms differed from the noncases group without symptoms by demographic and clinical factors, such as having dependent children, lower household income, cancer stage, family history of BC, previous psychiatric hospitalizations, obesity, smoking status, higher levels of fatigue, and depression at diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cohort study, nearly a third of patients with BC experienced temporary or lasting significant depressive symptoms during and after treatment. Improving early identification of women at risk of developing long-term or delayed depression is therefore critical to increase quality of life and overall survival. Subjected to validation, this study is an important first step toward personalized care of patients with BC at risk of depression.

Long-Term Longitudinal Patterns of Patient-Reported Fatigue After Breast Cancer: A Group-Based Trajectory Analysis

PURPOSE

Fatigue is recognized as one of the most burdensome and long-lasting adverse effects of cancer and cancer treatment. We aimed to characterize long-term fatigue trajectories among breast cancer survivors.

METHODS

We performed a detailed longitudinal analysis of fatigue using a large ongoing national prospective clinical study (CANcer TOxicity, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01993498) of patients with stage I-III breast cancer treated from 2012 to 2015. Fatigue was assessed at diagnosis and year 1, 2, and 4 postdiagnosis. Baseline clinical, sociodemographic, behavioral, tumor-related, and treatment-related characteristics were available. Trajectories of fatigue and risk factors of trajectory-group membership were identified by iterative estimates of group-based trajectory models.

RESULTS

Three trajectory groups were identified for severe global fatigue (n = 4,173). Twenty-one percent of patients were in the high-risk group, having risk estimates of severe global fatigue of 94.8% (95% CI, 86.6 to 100.0) at diagnosis and 64.6% (95% CI, 59.2 to 70.1) at year 4; 19% of patients clustered in the deteriorating group with risk estimates of severe global fatigue of 13.8% (95% CI, 6.7 to 20.9) at diagnosis and 64.5% (95% CI, 57.3 to 71.8) at year 4; 60% were in the low-risk group with risk estimates of 3.6% (95% CI, 2.5 to 4.7) at diagnosis and 9.6% (95% CI, 7.5 to 11.7) at year 4. The distinct dimensions of fatigue clustered in different trajectory groups than those identified by severe global fatigue, being differentially affected by sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the multidimensional nature of cancer-related fatigue and the complexity of its risk factors. This study helps to identify patients with increased risk of severe fatigue and to inform personalized interventions to ameliorate this problem.

A phase III randomized trial of weight loss to reduce cancer-related fatigue among overweight and obese breast cancer patients: MEDEA Study design

Background

Elevated body mass index (BMI) represents a risk factor for cancer-related fatigue (CRF). Weight loss interventions are feasible and safe in cancer survivors, leading to improved cardio-metabolic and quality of life (QOL) outcomes and modulating inflammatory biomarkers. Randomized data are lacking showing that a lifestyle intervention aimed at weight loss, combining improved diet, exercise, and motivational counseling, reduces CRF. Motivating to Exercise and Diet, and Educating to healthy behaviors After breast cancer (MEDEA) is a multi-center, randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of weight loss on CRF in overweight or obese survivors of breast cancer. Herein, we described the MEDEA methodology.

Methods

Patients (N = 220) with stage I–III breast cancer and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m², within 12 months of primary treatment, and able to walk ≥ 400 m are eligible to enroll. Participants are randomized 1:1 to health education alone vs. a personalized telephone-based weight loss intervention plus health education. Both arms receive a health education program focusing on healthy living. Patients in the intervention arm are paired with an individual lifestyle coach, who delivers the intervention through 24 semi-structured telephone calls over 1 year. Intervention goals include weight loss ≥ 10% of baseline, caloric restriction of 500–1000 Kcal/day, and increased physical activity (PA) to 150 (initial phase) and 225–300 min/week (maintenance phase). The intervention is based on the social cognitive theory and is adapted from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss trial (BWEL, A011401). The primary endpoint is the difference in self-reported CRF (EORTC QLQ-C30) between arms. Secondary endpoints include the following: QOL (EORTC QLQ-C30, -BR45, -FA12), anxiety, and depression (HADS); weight and BMI, dietary habits and quality, PA, and sleep; health care costs (hospital-admissions, all-drug consumption, sick leaves) and cost-effectiveness (cost per quality-adjusted life-year); and patient motivation and satisfaction. The primary analysis of MEDEA will compare self-reported CRF at 12 months post-randomization between arms, with 80.0% power (two-sided α = 0.05) to detect a standardized effect size of 0.40.

Discussion

MEDEA will test the impact of a weight loss intervention on CRF among overweight or obese BC survivors, potentially providing additional management strategies and contributing to establish weight loss support as a new standard of clinical care.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.govNCT04304924

Abstract P4-11-20: Attitudes and factors influencing contraception use over time in premenopausal women with early breast cancer in the prospective CANTO study

BACKGROUND: With an increased lifespan, survivorship has become a crucial component of breast cancer (BC) care. Among survivorship concerns, adequate contraception counseling is needed in premenopausal patients (pts) not seeking to become pregnant. However, very limited evidence exists on attitudes and factors influencing contraception use over time in premenopausal women with early BC. METHODS: CANTO is a multicenter, prospective cohort study of 12,012 pts with stage I-III BC (NCT01993498). This analysis included women aged ≤50 years with known premenopausal status at BC diagnosis. Contraception use and type were longitudinally evaluated at diagnosis, year-1 (T1) and 2 (T2) after diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed associations between clinical, socio-economic, treatment, toxicity (CTCAE) and pts-reported outcome (PROs, EORTC QLQ-C30/BR23) variables, with contraception use after diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 2,900 pts included, mean age at diagnosis was 43.1 (SD 5.6) years, 96.0% of pts already had children at BC diagnosis, 70.8% and 80.0% received chemotherapy and endocrine therapy (ET), respectively. Among patients treated with ET, 80.2% received tamoxifen alone and 19.8% other therapies (either tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor or a combination) plus ovarian function suppression (OFS). Following diagnosis, 45.0% of pts at T1 and 65.7% at T2 reported consulting a gynecologist. At diagnosis, 54.2% of pts reported contraception use, with the majority (62.6%) using hormonal methods. Prevalence of contraception use significantly decreased at T1 and T2 (38.9% and 41.2%, respectively; ptrend&lt;0.05), when the majority of pts reported use of mechanic (94.2% and 95.3%, respectively) reversible methods (copper intrauterine devices or condom in ~90% pts at both T1 and T2). In univariate analyses, pts reporting contraception use after diagnosis were more likely to be younger, with higher socio-economic status, partnered with children, and scored better on PROs scales assessing post-treatment body image, sexual functioning, global health, physical, emotional, role and social functioning (all p&lt;0.05). In the final multivariable model, factors associated with contraception use at T1 included prior contraception use at diagnosis (adjusted Odds Ratio vs no, 4.02 [95% CI 3.15-5.14]), younger age (for each decreasing year, 1.10 [1.07-1.13]), better sexual function (for 10-unit increment, 1.13 [1.07-1.19]), having children (vs no, 4.21 [1.80-9.86]), reporting leucorrhea (vs no, 1.32 [1.03-1.70]), receipt of tamoxifen alone (vs any other ET combined with OFS, 1.39 [1.01-1.92]) and having consulted with a gynecologist over the course of the previous year (vs no, 1.29 [1.02-1.63]). Similar factors were associated with contraception use at T2 including receipt of tamoxifen alone (vs. any other ET combined with OFS, 2.16 [1.48-3.15]) and having consulted with a gynecologist over the course of the previous year [vs no, 1.39 [1.04-1.86]). In addition, partnered status (vs not, 1.61 [1.07-2.44]) emerged as significantly associated with contraception use at T2. CONCLUSION: This large analysis of CANTO data provides unique insights on the attitudes and factors influencing contraception use over time in premenopausal women with early BC, being highly relevant to raise awareness and improve contraception counseling in these pts at both diagnosis and during oncology follow-up. Several factors were shown to be important in contraception decision making. Among them, consulting a gynecologist after diagnosis impacted contraception use, pointing at the need to promote long-term follow-up care by the oncofertility units beyond access to fertility preservation strategies in the growing, vulnerable population of premenopausal breast cancer survivors.

Citation Format: Matteo Lambertini, Claudia Massarotti, Julie Havas, Barbara Pistilli, Anne-Laure Martin, Alexandra Jacquet, Charles Coutant, Florence Coussy, Asma Dhaini Merimeche, Florence Lerebours, Olivier Tredan, Christelle Jouannaud, Olivier Rigal, Marion Fournier, Patrick Soulie, Maria Alice Franzoi, Lucia Del Mastro, Ann H. Partridge, Fabrice Andre, Ines Vaz-Luis, Antonio Di Meglio. Attitudes and factors influencing contraception use over time in premenopausal women with early breast cancer in the prospective CANTO study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-20.

Abstract P4-11-01: Development of a clinico-bio-behavioral model for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) incorporating inflammatory biomarkers and proteomic data

Background: We previously developed a clinico-behavioral model of CRF and reported an increased risk of severe CRF among survivors of breast cancer (BC) receiving adjuvant hormonal therapy (HT) (Di Meglio A, ASCO 2021). We now aim to comprehensively explore the contribution of relevant serum proteins in explaining CRF. We adopted a multimodal approach, both (1) hypothesis-driven, based on the rationale that deregulation of systemic inflammatory processes and mediators of immunologic or neuroendocrine activation are associated with vulnerability to CRF, and (2) discovery-driven, based on proteomic analyses. Methods: Women with stage I-III HR+/HER2- tumors receiving HT (N=1153) were included from the multicenter, prospective CANTO cohort (NCT01993498). The primary outcome of interest was severe post-treatment global CRF at year-2 (Y2) after diagnosis (score ≥ 40/100, EORTC QLQ-C30). Secondary outcomes included CRF dimensions (physical, emotional, cognitive; EORTC QLQ-FA12). For the hypothesis-driven analyses, pre-treatment blood samples were profiled (Randox Laboratories Limited, UK) at diagnosis of BC, using a multi-biomarker panel assessing IL6, TNFα, IL1RA, CRP, IL2, IL1β, IFNγ, IL10, IL1A, IL4, and IL8. Pre-specified pre-treatment clinico-behavioral covariates (age, BMI, smoking status, psychological, and pre-treatment symptom burden, based on previously developed models) were forced into a multivariable logistic regression. Biomarkers were retained by Augmented Backwards Elimination (p&lt;0.05) only if significantly associated with CRF. For the discovery approach, we used hyper-reaction monitoring mass spectrometry for the unbiased quantification of all detectable peptides and proteins in human plasma samples at diagnosis (Biognosys, CH), among a discovery subset (N=462). We then aimed to identify a proteomic signature associated with severe CRF at Y2. Log-transformed protein intensities were analyzed in terms of differential expression. The proteins that were identified to be significantly different among the patients reporting and not reporting severe CRF were then used to train a logistic regression model. Results: Prevalence of severe global CRF increased from 21.6% at diagnosis to 34.8% at Y2. In the final model, higher pre-treatment levels of IL6 and lower levels of IFNγ and IL10 were significant predictors of severe global CRF at Y2 (Table). The AUC of this clinico-bio-behavioral model was 0.78 (95%CI 0.75 - 0.82) and was suggestive of an improved performance as compared to clinico-behavioral models. Among CRF dimensions, a significant association emerged only between CRP and severe cognitive CRF (outcome prevalence at Y2 14.2%; adjusted OR per CRP log-unit increase 1.40 [95%CI 1.01-1.93]).

In the discovery subset, several proteins were identified as differentially regulated (p&lt;0.05) among patients reporting and not reporting severe CRF at Y2. Most of these were related to coagulation pathways (including C4BPA, C4BPB, HABP2, PLF4, PROS). However, models incorporating proteomic data did not seem to augment the predictive ability compared to clinico-behavioral models. Conclusions: Using clinical and biological pre-treatment measurements, it may be possible to identify a subset of BC patients at high risk for increased post-treatment CRF while on HT. This provides the possibility of testing dedicated preventive interventions.

Table. Clinico-bio-behavioral model of pre-treatment predictors of severe global CRF at Y2, incorporating circulating inflammatory biomarkers.Adjusted OR§ (95% CI)Age, per additional 1 year0.98 (0.96-0.99)BMI, per additional unit1.02 (0.99-1.06)Current smoker, vs never2.27 (1.47-3.51)Former smoker, vs never0.97 (0.64-1.46)Anxiety case*, vs normal1.13 (0.75-1.70)Doubtful anxiety*, vs normal1.11 (0.73-1.68)Pre-treatment Insomnia**, per additional 10 points1.09 (1.04-1.15)Pre-treatment Pain**, per additional 10 points1.10 (1.01-1.18)Severe pre-treatment CRF**, vs no4.70 (3.13-7.05)IL6***1.72 (1.25-2.36)IL1RA***1.24 (0.85-1.81)IL2***1.43 (0.99-2.08)IFNγ***0.54 (0.30-0.95)IL10***0.40 (0.18-0.87)IL4***1.47 (0.67-3.20)IL8***1.15 (0.83-1.60)OR= Odds Ratio; CI= Confidence Interval; §by all factors in Table; *HADS; **QLQ-C30; ***per log-unit increase

Citation Format: Antonio Di Meglio, Stergios Christodoulidis, Davide Soldato, Antonin Della Noce, Daniele Presti, Julie Havas, Florine Dubuisson, Barbara Pistilli, Valerie Camara-Clayette, Cecile Charles, Patricia A Ganz, Julienne Bower, Ann H Partridge, Alexandra Jacquet, Sibille Everhard, Sandrine Boyault, Fabrice André, Paul-Henry Cournede, Stefan Michiels, Caroline Pradon, Ines Vaz-Luis. Development of a clinico-bio-behavioral model for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) incorporating inflammatory biomarkers and proteomic data [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-01.

Abstract P4-11-34: An integrated clinical, behavioral and biological model to predict the risk of weight gain among breast cancer survivors (BCS)

Background: Weight management is an integral part of survivorship care. Excess weight in BCS is associated with worse clinical outcomes and quality of life. Early identification of BCS at risk of gaining substantial weight could lead to prompt and tailored interventions. We aimed at developing a predictive model of weight gain that integrates clinical, behavioral and biological data. Methods: We included patients with stage I-III BC from the CANTO cohort (NCT01993498). CANTO collects longitudinal data, including objective anthropometric measures, at diagnosis (dx), 1 (T1), 2 (T2) and 4 (T3) years after dx. In addition, profiling of blood samples obtained at dx was performed for two sub-cohorts with HR+/HER2- BC for quantification of: (1) inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers (IL6, TNFα, IL1RA, CRP, IL2, IL1β, IFNγ, IL10, IL1A, IL4, IL8, ADPN, LEPT, INS, RETN) and (2) detectable proteins using hyper reaction mass spectrometry (Biognosys). Our outcome of interest was weight gain (increase ≥ 5%) compared to dx. First, multivariable logistic regression with bootstrapped Augmented Backwards Elimination (ABE) retained associations between weight gain and clinico-behavioral covariates. To assess contribution of biologic data, ABE retained associations between weight gain and biomarkers, correcting for significant covariates. Models were validated using internal cross-validation and overoptimism-correction. For proteomics, proteins relative intensity was calculated, and a bootstrapped differential protein expression analysis identified proteins associated with weight gain that were then included in logistic regression. Models performance was assessed in terms of Area Under the Curve (AUC). Results: In the overall cohort (N=9541) mean age was 56.8 (SD 11.4), mean BMI was 25.9 Kg/m2 (SD 5.4), 48.9% of pts were overweight or obese, and 52.9% received chemotherapy (CT). Overall, 16.9% (T1), 23.4% (T2), and 27.2% (T3) BCS gained weight (absolute mean change (95% CI): 6.1 kg (5.9-6.2), 6.7 kg (6.5-6.9) and 7.2 kg (6.9-7.3) at T1, T2, T3, respectively). In clinico-behavioral models, younger age, current smoking, lower income and education, receipt of CT and radiotherapy were associated with increased risk of weight gain (Table). Among 1261 BCS with biomarkers data, higher levels of IL1α (OR for 1-unit log increase [95%CI] 0.11 [0.02 - 0.65]) and of ADPN (1.36 [1.01 - 1.85]) were associated with lower and higher risk of weight gain at T2 and T3, respectively. Performance of models integrating these biomarkers was similar to clinico-behavioral models. Among 462 BCS with proteomic profiling, preliminary data showed that higher relative abundance of IgG Fc Binding Protein (OR 0.44, p&lt;.05) and Tubulin-1 (OR 0.73, p&lt;.05) was associated with lower risk of weight gain at T1. AUC of model integrating clinical and proteomics data was 0.74 (0.58-0.90). Conclusions: Over one-in-four BCS in the CANTO cohort experienced meaningful weight gain 4 years after dx. This large, multidimensional study confirms the role of clinico-behavioral risk factors for weight gain. However, the predictive ability of clinico-behavioral models seems suboptimal. The exploitation of additional data dimensions, including serum proteins and proteomic data, may help improve predictive ability and inform underlying biological processes implicated in weight gain after BC. Further studies will aim at improving model stability, particularly for proteomics analyses.

Table. Models of weight gain in the overall cohort.T1 (N= 8397)T2 (N= 7663)T3 (N= 5802)Clinical predictors OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)Age, 1-year increase0.96 (0.94 - 0.97)0.96 (0.95 - 0.97)0.96 (0.95 - 0.97)BMI, 1-unit increaseNRNS0.97 (0.94 - 0.99)Education, primary vs collegeNS1.57 (1.04 - 2.39)NREducation, high school vs college1.38 (1.04 - 1.83)1.54 (1.21 - 1.98)NRIncome, ≥ 1500 and &lt;3000 vs &gt;3000NRNR1.29 (1.00 - 1.66)Smoke, current vs never1.70 (1.24 - 2.33)NR1.53 (1.12 - 2.08)Chemotherapy, yes vs no1.40 (1.07 - 1.82)1.31 (1.01 - 1.69)NRRadiotherapy, yes vs no2.10 (1.10 - 3.99)NR1.83 (1.08 - 3.12)AUC (95% CI) - clinical models0.65 (0.63 - 0.68)0.64 (0.61 - 0.67)0.65 (0.63 - 0.68)AUC (95% CI) - clinical + inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers models, [N]0.65 (0.60 - 0.70), [1179]0.66 (0.62 - 0.70), [948]0.67 (0.63 - 0.71), [1017]AUC (95% CI) - clinical and proteomics models, [N]0.74 (0.58 - 0.90), [462]0.65 (0.50 - 0.81), [462]NEOR= Odds Ratio, CI= Confidence Interval, NR= Not Retained, NS= Not significant, NE= Not evaluated *Adjusted by age, menopause, smoke, socioeconomic, psychological, tumor and treatments **Significant covariates from previous models were forced and ABE selected significant variables among all circulating biomarkers.

Citation Format: Davide Soldato, Antonio Di Meglio, Caroline Pradon, Antonin Della Noce, Daniele Presti, Julie Havas, Florine Dubuisson, Barbara Pistilli, Valerie Camara-Clayette, Fabrice André, Alexandra Jacquet, Sibille Everhard, Sandrine Boyault, Paul-Henry Cournede, Stefan Michiels, Ines Vaz-Luis, Stergios Christodoulidis. An integrated clinical, behavioral and biological model to predict the risk of weight gain among breast cancer survivors (BCS) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-34.

Abstract P1-13-08: Patterns of adjuvant endocrine therapy, discontinuations, toxicities and quality of life: Development of a model for early discontinuation using the CANTO cohort

Abstract. Long-term adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors) is paramount for patients with early-stage breast cancer. Adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy is hampered by numerous side effects associated with sustained estrogen deprivation. We aimed to describe recent real-world patterns of therapy, patients’ discontinuations of ET, toxicities, quality of life (QoL) and to develop a predictive model of early ET discontinuation. Methods. We used the first 9595 patients of the French CANTO cohort (NCT01993498), to evaluate among 6238 premenopausal and postmenopausal patients with HR+/HER2- stage I-III BC, who were prescribed adjuvant ET: a. treatment patterns of adjuvant ET including change of ET prescription during the follow-up course b. ET-associated toxicities and c. impact on QoL. Independent variables included medical history and toxicities as measured by : Common Toxicity Criteria Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4, Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) including European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaires (QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer Module (BR23), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Treatment discontinuation and treatment change were determined on the basis of patient’s declaration and medical decisions reported in the CANTO eCRF. We used patient data at 4 months from therapy initiation to train and evaluate on a held-out test set a machine-learning model (gradient-boosted trees) that is predictive of time to early discontinuation i.e. permanent discontinuation before four years of additional therapy. Results. 4052 post-menopausal patients and 2186 premenopausal patients were included in this analysis. Median follow-up after ET initiation is 3 years and 2 months. 86% of post-menopausal patients were prescribed a non-steroidal AI initially and 92% of premenopausal patients received tamoxifen first. Discontinuation rate of the first adjuvant endocrine therapy at 1 year was 14% and 10% in premenopausal and post-menopausal patients, respectively. Among 741 post-menopausal and 340 premenopausal patients who started a second ET, discontinuation of the second prescribed adjuvant ET at 1 additional year of therapy is 30% in both populations. Patients who switched from a first adjuvant ET to a second or further one continued to have more treatment-related toxicities and associated decrements in QoL. Exclusions due to data completeness and outcome definition led to 5331 patients being used for the model (4264 in the training set and 1067 in the validation set). In that population, the permanent discontinuation rate at 3 years is 6%. Our prediction model of time to early discontinuation obtains a C-index of 0.78 in the held-out validation set. Conclusion. Tolerability and continued adherence to ET remains a challenge for many patients. Early discontinuation models may assist in identifying patients who are likely to interrupt their adjuvant ET. Adapted clinical management, including robust support and management of toxicities, as well as new and more tolerable adjuvant endocrine therapies may improve the clinical outcomes of these patients.

Citation Format: Felix Balazard, Aurélie Bertaut, Élise Bordet, Stéphane Mulard, Julie Blanc, Nathalie Briot, Gautier Paux, Asma Dhaini Merimeche, Olivier Rigal, Charles Coutant, Marion Fournier, Christelle Jouannaud, Patrick Soulie, Florence Lerebours, Paul-Henri Cottu, Olivier Tredan, Laurence Vanlemmens, Christelle Levy, Marie-Ange Mouret-Reynier, Mario Campone, Keri J. S. Brady, Medha Sasane, Megan Rice, Catherine Coulouvrat, Anne-Laure Martin, Alexandra Jacquet, Ines Vaz-Luis, Christina Herold, Barbara Pistilli. Patterns of adjuvant endocrine therapy, discontinuations, toxicities and quality of life: Development of a model for early discontinuation using the CANTO cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-13-08.

Abstract P4-09-05: Focus on non-adherence: A qualitative exploration of perceptions associated to adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) in premenopausal patients with breast cancer and their health care providers (HCP)

Background and Objectives: Despite the proven benefits on reducing time to recurrence and improving survival, recent studies indicate that only half or less of patients with early stage breast cancer (BC) complete their recommended full-course of adjuvant ET. Findings suggested that adherence therefore remains a challenge for both patients and professionals, with differences in representations that remain poorly understood. The main objective of this study is to investigate BC patient’s perceptions about ET. Secondary objectives are: (1): to capture potential gaps between their perceptions and the representations of their HCP (2): to explore preferences in patients regarding programs aimed to improve adherence to ET. Methods We conducted separately focus groups with patients and HCP to capture a multilevel framework regarding non-adherence. Inclusion criteria for patients’ focus groups were: non metastatic hormone-receptor positive (HR+) BC; ≥18 years old; premenopausal at time of diagnosis; receiving ET for at least 2 months; for HCP criteria were: to be a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, pharmacist or nurse; with at least 5 years of experience on BC. The discussion schedule was non-directive and included: introduction remarks and three key- questions linked to our objectives as well as follow-up questions to facilitate the discourse. Discussions were audio recorded, anonymized and transcribed verbatim. We used a thematic analysis approach to identify patterns and themes. Results: Twenty-eight patients (median age=45 yrs) and 17 professionals (11 women, median professional experience with BC =9.5 yrs) participated. Major themes emerging among participants are showed in Table 1. Important differences between HCP and patients with BC were analyzed regarding their representations towards adherence and communication.Conclusions: Dissatisfaction concerning ET medical monitoring and communication is shared by patients and professionals. The HCP reported a lack of communication skills to support patients struggling with ET adherence. Strikingly, the major barrier to ET reported by patients is related to the employment and the lack of adaptation to sequelae of ET. This barrier is not reported by professionals and appears a critical challenge to face. The suggestions made by patients during the focus groups offer promising perspectives regarding support programs to improve adherence.

PatientsN=28Major themesSub-themes•Representations on ET : a multidimensional burden1.Side effects and management2.Benefit/risk balance 3.Seeking information on ET•Professional life1.Work reintegration2.Lack of empathy of coworkers3.Career change•Psychological adjustment to ET1.Daily struggling2.Self-image modifications3.Feelings of loneliness•Relations to health care providers1.Communication: negative and positive aspects2.Shared decision-making 3.Advice on follow-up careHCP (N=17)•Representations on ET : a therapeutic weapon1.Side effects 2.Impact on body image 3.Finding solutions regarding ET side effects•Discourse to patients1.Negotiating the adherence to treatment 2.Beliefs on patients’ suggestibility 3.Communication techniques•Emotional experience: negative impact of prescribing ET1.Emotional fatigue2.Guilt 3.Desire on having psychologists to handle the patients’ emotions•Difficulties related to the healthcare system1.Lack of time 2.Lack of training

Citation Format: Léonor Maria Fasse, Nicolas Roche, Diane Boinon, Gwenn Menvielle, Agnes Dumas, Sofia Rivera, Margarida Matias, Antonio Di-Meglio, Suzette Delaloge, Ines Vaz-Luis, Barbara Pistilli. Focus on non-adherence: A qualitative exploration of perceptions associated to adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) in premenopausal patients with breast cancer and their health care providers (HCP) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-09-05.

Abstract P4-07-17: Association between plasma-based sequential windowed acquisition mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS) and invasive disease free survival (iDFS) in HR+/HER2- early breast cancer in the CANTO cohort

Background: The definition of breast cancer (BC) prognosis has historically relied on clinico-pathological factors. Novel omics markers including proteomic analyses could improve our understanding of the biological host drivers of breast cancer recurrence and survival. We aimed at identifying patients (pts) at high risk of recurrence based on proteomic markers in plasma.Methods: CANTO is a multicenter, prospective cohort study of stage I-III BCS (NCT01993498). Plasma samples were collected on HR+/HER2- pts at diagnosis (dx) and analyzed by SWATH-MS, implemented by Biognosys AG (Schlieren, Switzerland), resulting in a relative quantification of the abundance of 500 proteins in the plasma. A Cox model was fitted to estimate to associate proteomic and clinical variables with the primary endpoint IDFS Clinical covariates consisted of age, stage and grade. An adaptive Lasso method was used to perform model selection. The discrimination performances of the model were assessed on 100 random train-test partitions of the cohort. Results: There were 457 pts with analyzed plasma samples. The median age at dx was 59.3 years, and the repartition of cancer stage was 52% for stage I, 37% for stage II and 11% for stage III. The mean duration of follow-up was 5.4 years, and 53 (11.5%) IDFS events (non local recurrences, second primary cancers and deaths) were reported. In total, 7 proteins were selected by the adaptive Lasso process; associated with the age, the stage and the grade at dx, 3 proteins were retained as having a significant impact on the IDFS: GTP-binding nuclear protein Ran (RAN), involved in cell division and GTP metabolic process, C4b-binding protein alpha-chain (C4BPA), involved in complement activation, and prothrombin (THRB), involved in acute-phase response and blood activation. Concordance indices were computed on 100 random test subsets of the cohort for the model with clinical variables only (0.67+/- 0.08), for the model with selected protein features only (0.74 +/- 0.07) and for the model with both proteomic and clinical covariates (0.75 +/-0.06). Conclusion: The discrimination performances of the estimated model suggest that proteomics provide relevant markers associated with BC prognosis. Validation on an independent validation set is required. Host related plasma proteins represent an avenue worth exploring to improve our understanding of BC relapse risk

Table 1.Estimated hazard ratios of the linear Cox model.FeaturesHR* (95% CI)p-valuesRAN (for 1 SD increase)0.66 (0.51-0.85)&lt;0.005THRB (for 1 SD increase)1.43 (0.99-2.06)0.05C4BPA (for 1 SD increase)1.44 (1.02-2.02)0.04stage--II vs I1.68 (0.82-3.46)0.16III vs I4.29 (1.88-9.75)&lt;0.005HR = hazard ratio CI = confidence interval * adjusted by age and grade

Citation Format: Antonin Della Noce, Stergios Christodoulidis, Antonio Di Meglio, Julie Havas, Alicia Tran-Dien, Fabrice André, Ines Vaz-Luis, Paul-Henry Cournède, Stefan Michiels. Association between plasma-based sequential windowed acquisition mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS) and invasive disease free survival (iDFS) in HR+/HER2- early breast cancer in the CANTO cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-07-17.

Abstract P4-11-27: A multimodal and personalized digital companion to help survivors of breast cancer (BC) manage side effects of adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET): A qualitative exploration

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) applications (app) and remote monitoring demonstrated tangible value in terms of improving dose delivery, quality of life and mitigating the severity of acute treatment-related side effects, both in the metastatic setting and during the active phase of treatment in patients (pts) with early-stage solid tumors. However, the value of mHealth in ‘after primary treatment’ survivorship phase is less studied. Most BC pts have hormone receptor-positive disease and are eligible for adjuvant ET for 5-10 years. ET is associated with multiple side effects that negatively impact quality of life and treatment adherence. A prior survey among French survivors suggested that pts are willing to use digital companion app to help them in the after-cancer experience. In this setting, we developed a digital companion for survivors of BC receiving ET. Objectives: In this study, we explored acceptability, representations, levers, and barriers to a multimodal mHealth intervention among BC pts treated with ET. Methods: This was a qualitative study based on 3 focus groups (FG) with survivors of BC receiving adjuvant ET. The multimodal mHealth intervention had the following features: measure (symptom reporting), understand, and appease (information on interventions to relieve the symptom). FG were conducted via videoconference, lasted approximately 60-90 min, were recorded and transcribed for analysis. A content, thematic analysis was performed. All participants provided oral informed consent and socio-demographic information. Results: 17 BC survivors from diverse professional and socio-economic background participated. Mean age was 48.5 years (range: 32-61). There was a consensus regarding the acceptability and perception of usefulness of an app during treatment with adjuvant ET. A feeling of loneliness during this period was also expressed. Emergent themes cited included: a) positive representations i) satisfaction with the educational support with language and the level of information of the app judged as appropriate and reliable; ii) hope in the role of the app as a companion to alleviate the loneliness; iii) vehicle to enhance family interaction; iv) tool to boost engagement towards their treatment. b) concerns associated with i) fear of human contact replacement ii) fear of loss of interest over time, particularly in the setting of a 5-10 year journey. Pts were pro-active in providing feedback regarding innovative features that could be integrated: i) including interest on the use of biosensors (step counting, nutritional tracking); ii) to receive personalized encouragement messages and iii) updated information regarding scientific advances related to the treatment of early breast cancer. Most participants found the app to be aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Conclusions: Findings from this qualitative study are promising regarding the acceptability and perception of usefulness of a personalized app for the mitigation of ET side effects in the adjuvant setting. It highlights the need of personalized educational material, but also maintenance of ‘bi-directional’ communication with health professionals. Optimization of the tool is ongoing and updated FG results will be presented. This tool will be tested in a randomized controlled trial starting in Q1/2022, which will evaluate its effectiveness.

Quotes from participantsThemes emergedParticipants’ quotes from focus groupsSatisfaction with educational support‘’Today we find everything on the internet, bad and good things, we cannot know what is true and what is fake. (⋯) If an app can give us reliable information, good, summarized information, this would be great!’’Satisfaction with educational support; Hope in the role of the app to alleviate loneliness“I didn’t even know we had so many side-effects linked to endocrine therapy. Now I understand that it’s true, it’s not something from my head. It’s related to the treatment and it’s really nice to have this support.”Alleviation of loneliness‘’I often feel lonely, sometimes is difficult to have contact with the doctor.’’, ‘’We feel lonely, even our family cannot understand.’’Alleviation of loneliness‘’We need to exchange with people that lived the same situation.’’, “We go to forums, chats, Instagram⋯”, ‘’We realize that we are not alone, that we are not the only ones with the symptoms.’’Fear of human contact replacement‘’It is a good addition, but it will never replace the relationship that we have with our doctor.’’Fear of loss of interest over time‘’It is a good app to start endocrine therapy⋯ How to make the app interesting and useful during several years of treatment?’’

Citation Format: Elise Martin, Antonio Di Meglio, Pietro Lapidari, Daniele Presti, Davide Soldato, Léna Degousee, Marion Aupomerol, Barbara Pistilli, Léonor Fasse, Diane Boinon, Florian Scotte, Gwenn Menvielle, Agnès Dumas, Céline Lazorthes, Jonathan Benhamou, Matthieu Pozza, Raphaëlle Martin-Neuville, Nicolas Helleringer, Jeanne Eelkema, Fabrice Andre, Ines Vaz-Luis, Maria Alice Franzoi. A multimodal and personalized digital companion to help survivors of breast cancer (BC) manage side effects of adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET): A qualitative exploration [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-27.

Abstract P4-11-09: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in early breast cancer (BC) survivors

Background: Up to 35% BC survivors who receive adjuvant treatment (tx) experience severe CRCI, which has a significant impact on quality of life, disrupting daily functioning as well as self-esteem, self-confidence, and work ability. However, limited tools exist to predict the risk of CRCI. We aimed to develop a comprehensive model of severe CRCI, including clinical and serum inflammatory protein data. Methods: We included 8875 patients (pts) with stage I-III BC from the multicenter, prospective CANTO cohort (NCT01993498). Longitudinal data were collected at diagnosis (dx), 1 (T1), 2 (T2) and 4 (T3) years post-dx. Our outcome of interest was severe cognitive impairment at T1, T2, and T3 (score &lt; 75/100, EORTC QLQ-C30, Giesinger JM 2020). Multivariable logistic regression models retained associations between baseline clinical variables (sociodemographic, psychological, tumor, and tx-related) with severe CRCI by bootstrapped Augmented Backwards Elimination (ABE). Among a subset of patients with HR+/HER2- BC (N= 1151), blood samples were profiled at dx using a multi-biomarker inflammatory panel assessing IL6, TNFα, IL1RA, CRP, IL2, IL1β, IFNγ, IL10, IL1A, IL4, IL8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). All biomarkers were incorporated simultaneously into a model of severe CRCI and retained only if significantly associated with CRCI by ABE (p&lt;0.05). Previously retained clinical associations were forced into the model. Results: In the overall cohort, mean age at dx was 56.7 years (SD 11.3), and 52.7% and 81.3% of pts received chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, respectively. Prevalence rates of severe CRCI were 31.2% (dx), 31.4% (T1), 30.9% (T2), and 29.9% (T3). Severe post-tx CRCI was consistently associated with severe pre-tx pain and severe pre-tx CRCI. Severe pre-tx fatigue, younger age, anxiety symptoms and hot flashes at dx were also associated with increased odds of severe CRCI at some post-dx time-points (Table 1). Models Area Under the Curve (AUC) were 0.73 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.70-0.76) at T1, 0.69 (CI 0.65-0.72) at T2, and 0.68 (CI 0.63-0.72) at T3. Among pts with available serum biomarkers, no significant associations were observed between inflammatory proteins and CRCI at any time point. Performance of models incorporating inflammatory biomarkers was similar to clinical-only models (Table 2). Conclusions: Almost 1/3 of BC survivors in this cohort reported severe CRCI. This rate was stable throughout the survivorship period and did not seem to be affected by cancer-specific or tx-related factors, or inflammatory biomarkers. Pts age and concomitant symptom burden at dx emerged as consistent associations with severe CRCI. A description of the average population risk of CRCI using a self-reported, global evaluation scale may not fully describe the granularity of this phenomenon. Further studies building on dedicated, objective measurements, may help identify latent classes of pts experiencing a major decline in cognitive function following BC tx, and for whom a contribution of biology may help explain inter-individual variability and underlying biological processes.

Table 1.Models of severe CRCI in the overall cohort: clinical predictors.T1 (N=7724)T2 (N=6825)T3 (N=4706)OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)Severe Pain**, vs no1.50 (1.09-2.07)1.93 (1.39-2.69)1.55 (1.03-2.34)Severe pre-tx CRCI**, vs no3.69 (2.70-5.05)2.53 (1.85-3.46)2.21 (1.47-3.32)Severe Fatigue**, vs no1.50 (1.06-2.11)1.61 (1.13-2.28)1.08 (0.69-1.70)Age (continous)0.98 (0.97-0.99)NR0.98 (0.96-0.99)Menopause, post- vs pre-NR0.73 (0.54-0.98)NRAnxiety, case vs normalNRNR1.82 (1.13-2.92)Anxiety, borderline vs normalNRNR1.84 (1.17-2.91)Hot flashes, vs no1.25 (0.92-1.69)1.20 (0.87-1.65)1.64 (1.10-2.43)Corrected AUC0.73 (0.70-0.76)0.69 (0.65-0.72)0.68 (0.63-0.72)OR= Odds Ratio, CI= Confidence Interval, NR= Not Retained; *Adjusted by BMI, alcohol, smoke, socioeconomic, psychological, tumor and tx; **QLQ-C30

Table 2.Models of severe CRCI in the overall cohort**: biological biomarkers.T1 (N=1094)T2 (N=1091)T3 (N=870)OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)OR* (95% CI)IL6NR0.80 (0.46-1.40)1.01 (0.64-1.60)IL1RA0.66 (0.37-1.17)0.88 (0.50-1.55)NRCRP0.94 (0.60-1.48)1.44 (0.92-2.27)NRIL20.93 (0.55-1.57)1.10 (0.61-1.97)NRIL1βNR1.55 (0.71-3.40)NRIFNγ1.86 (0.69-5.01)0.75 (0.25-2.22)NRIL101.05 (0.34-3.27)1.27 (0.58-2.78)NRIL1A0.71 (0.15-3.33)0.80 (0.17-3.66)NRIL80.96 (0.58-1.58)NRNRTNFαNR1.35 (0.67-2.73)NRMCP-11.07 (0.64-1.78)0.83 (0.51-1.35)0.80 (0.48-1.31)Corrected AUC0.72 (0.67-0.77)0.70 (0.65-0.75)0.67 (0.62-0.72)OR= Odds Ratio, CI= Confidence Interval, NR= Not Retained; *Adjusted by BMI, alcohol, smoke, socioeconomic, psychological, tumor and tx; ** Clinical predictors from previous models were forced in the models at each time-point

Citation Format: Daniele Presti, Florence Joly, Davide Soldato, Stergios Christodoulidis, Antonin Della Noce, Julie Havas, Florine Dubuisson, Barbara Pistilli, Valerie Camara-Clayette, Fabrice André, Anne-Laure Martin, Alexandra Jacquet, Sandrine Boyault, Ivan Bièche, Charles Coutant, Paul-Henry Cournede, Stefan Michiels, Caroline Pradon, Ines Vaz-Luis, Antonio Di Meglio. Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in early breast cancer (BC) survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-09.

Uptake of Recommendations for Posttreatment Cancer-Related Fatigue Among Breast Cancer Survivors

BACKGROUND

Physical activity (PA) and psychosocial interventions are recommended management strategies for cancer-related fatigue (CRF). Randomized trials support the use of mind-body techniques, whereas no data show benefit for homeopathy or naturopathy.

METHODS

We used data from CANTO (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01993498), a multicenter, prospective study of stage I-III breast cancer (BC). CRF, evaluated after primary treatment completion using the EORTC QLQ-C30 (global CRF) and QLQ-FA12 (physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions), served as the independent variable (severe [score of ≥40/100] vs nonsevere). Outcomes of interest were adherence to PA recommendations (≥10 metabolic equivalent of task [MET] h/week [GPAQ-16]) and participation in consultations with a psychologist, psychiatrist, acupuncturist, or other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioner (homeopath and/or naturopath) after CRF assessment. Multivariable logistic regression examined associations between CRF and outcomes, adjusting for sociodemographic, psychologic, tumor, and treatment characteristics.

RESULTS

Among 7,902 women diagnosed from 2012 through 2017, 36.4% reported severe global CRF, and 35.8%, 22.6%, and 14.1% reported severe physical, emotional, and cognitive CRF, respectively. Patients reporting severe global CRF were less likely to adhere to PA recommendations (60.4% vs 66.7%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71-0.94; P=.004), and slightly more likely to see a psychologist (13.8% vs 7.5%; aOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05-1.58; P=.014), psychiatrist (10.4% vs 5.0%; aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.10-1.76; P=.0064), acupuncturist (9.8% vs 6.5%; aOR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.17-1.82; P=.0008), or CAM practitioner (12.5% vs 8.2%; aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.23-1.82; P<.0001). There were differences in recommendation uptake by CRF dimension, including that severe physical CRF was associated with lower adherence to PA (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.63-0.86; P=.0001) and severe emotional CRF was associated with higher likelihood of psychologic consultations (aOR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.06-1.79; P=.017).

CONCLUSIONS

Uptake of recommendations to improve CRF, including adequate PA and use of psychosocial services, seemed suboptimal among patients with early-stage BC, whereas there was a nonnegligible interest in homeopathy and naturopathy. Findings of this large study indicate the need to implement recommendations for managing CRF in clinical practice.

Development and Validation of a Predictive Model of Severe Fatigue After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Toward a Personalized Framework in Survivorship Care

PURPOSE

Fatigue is common and troublesome among breast cancer survivors; however, limited tools exist to predict its risk.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Participants with stage I-III breast cancer were prospectively included from CANTO (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01993498), collecting longitudinal data at diagnosis (before the initiation of any cancer treatment) and 1 (T1), 2 (T2), and 4 (T3) years after diagnosis. The main outcome was severe global fatigue at T2 (score ≥ 40/100, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30). Analyses at T3 were exploratory. Secondary outcomes included physical, emotional, and cognitive fatigue (EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire-FA12). Multivariable logistic regression models retained associations with severe fatigue by bootstrapped Augmented Backward Elimination. Validation methods included 10-fold internal cross-validation, overoptimism-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristic curves, and external validation.

RESULTS

Among 5,640, 5,000, and 3,400 patients at T1, T2, and T3, respectively, the prevalence of post-treatment severe global fatigue was 35.6%, 34.0%, and 31.5% in the development cohort. Retained risk factors for severe global fatigue at T2 were severe pretreatment fatigue (adjusted odds ratio v no 3.191 [95% CI, 2.704 to 3.767]); younger age (for 1-year decrement 1.015 [1.009 to 1.022]), higher body mass index (for unit increment 1.025 [1.012 to 1.038]), current smoking behavior (v never 1.552 [1.291 to 1.866]), worse anxiety (v noncase 1.265 [1.073 to 1.492]), insomnia (for unit increment 1.005 [1.003 to 1.007]), and pain at diagnosis (for unit increment 1.014 [1.010 to 1.017]), with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.72 to 0.75). Receipt of hormonal therapy was a risk factor for severe fatigue at T3 (v no 1.448 [1.165 to 1.799]). Dimension-specific risk factors included body mass index for physical fatigue and emotional distress for emotional and cognitive fatigue.

CONCLUSION

We propose a predictive model to assess fatigue among breast cancer survivors, within a personalized survivorship care framework. This may help clinicians to provide early management interventions or to correct modifiable risk factors and offer more tailored monitoring and education to patients at risk of severe post-treatment fatigue.

Lifestyle and quality of life in patients with early-stage breast cancer receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

A comprehensive approach to survivorship care for women with early-stage, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer should systematically include the proactive assessment and adequate management of endocrine therapy-associated symptoms, in order to assure optimal balance between preserving quality of life (QOL) and maximizing treatment adherence. We reviewed the recent literature focused on lifestyle factors, including physical activity, diet and nutrition, weight management, smoke, and alcohol behavior, and their link with symptomatology and QOL among women receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies confirm the safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in mitigating several common endocrine therapy-related effects, including musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and insomnia, and in improving physical and emotional wellbeing as well as overall health-related QOL among women with early-stage breast cancer.

SUMMARY

Healthy lifestyle behaviors have the potential to modulate the downstream impact of endocrine therapy and improve QOL among women with early-stage breast cancer. Considerations for real-world clinical care implementation emerged, including a need to evaluate the long-term uptake of healthy behaviors and facilitate the postintervention maintenance of an improved lifestyle. Some facilitators to health promotion in breast cancer survivors were also suggested, such as individualized and one-to-one supervised programs, and digital solutions providing real-time feedback, building on personalized, direct patient engagement.

Determinants of use of oral complementary-alternative medicine among women with early breast cancer: a focus on cancer-related fatigue

BACKGROUND

Despite the questionable effectiveness of oral complementary and alternative medicine (OCAM) in relieving cancer-related symptoms, including fatigue (CRF), many patients use it aiming to improve their quality of life. We assessed factors associated with OCAM use, focusing on CRF.

METHODS

Women with stage I-III breast cancer (BC) were included from CANTO (NCT01993498). OCAM use was defined as taking homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, or herbal/dietary supplements. Multivariable multinomial logistic regressions evaluated associations of CRF (EORTC QLQ-C30), patient, and treatment characteristics with OCAM use.

RESULTS

Among 5237 women, 23.0% reported OCAM use overall (49.3% at diagnosis, 50.7% starting post-diagnosis), mostly homeopathy (65.4%). Mean (SD) CRF score was 27.6 (24.0) at diagnosis and 35.1 (25.3) at post-diagnosis. More intense CRF was consistently associated with OCAM use at diagnosis and post-diagnosis [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for 10-point increase 1.05 (95% Confidence interval 1.01-1.09) and 1.04 (1.01-1.09) vs. never use, respectively]. Odds of using OCAM at diagnosis were higher among older [for 5-year increase, 1.09 (1.04-1.14)] and more educated patients [college vs. primary 1.80 (1.27-2.55)]. Women with income > 3000 [vs. < 1500 euros/month, 1.44 (1.02-2.03)], anxiety [vs. not, 1.25 (1.01-1.54)], and those receiving chemotherapy [vs. not, 1.32 (1.04-1.68)] had higher odds of using OCAM post-diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

One-in-four patients reported use of OCAM. More severe CRF was consistently associated with its use. Moreover, older, better educated, wealthier, more anxious women, and those receiving chemotherapy seemed more prone to use OCAM. Characterizing profiles of BC patients more frequently resorting to OCAM may help deliver targeted information about its benefits and potential risks.

Prospective Study Testing a Simplified Paclitaxel Premedication Regimen in Patients with Early Breast Cancer

Background

In early trials, hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to paclitaxel were common, thus prompting the administration of antihistamines and corticosteroids before every paclitaxel dose. We tested the safety of omitting corticosteroids after cycle 2 during the paclitaxel portion of the dose‐dense (DD) doxorubicin‐cyclophosphamide (AC)–paclitaxel regimen.

Patients, Materials, and Methods

In this prospective, single‐arm study, patients who completed four cycles of DD‐AC for stage I–III breast cancer received paclitaxel 175 mg/m² every 2 weeks for four cycles. Patients received a standard premedication protocol containing dexamethasone, diphenhydramine, and a histamine H2 blocker prior to the first two paclitaxel cycles. Dexamethasone was omitted in cycles three and four if there were no HSRs in previous cycles. We estimated the rate of grade 3–4 HSRs.

Results

Among 127 patients enrolled, 125 received more than one dose of protocol therapy and are included in the analysis. Fourteen (11.2%; 90% confidence interval, 6.9%–20.0%) patients had any‐grade HSRs, for a total of 22 (4.5%; 3.1%–6.4%) HSRs over 486 paclitaxel cycles. Any‐grade HSRs occurred in 1.6% (0.3%–5.0%), 6.5% (3.3%–11.3%), 7.4% (3.9%–12.5%), and 2.6% (0.7%–6.6%) of patients after paclitaxel cycles 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Dexamethasone use was decreased by 92.8% in cycles 3 and 4. Only one patient experienced grade 3 HSR in cycles 3 or 4, for a rate of grade 3/4 HSR 0.4% (0.02%–2.0%) (1/237 paclitaxel infusions). That patient had grade 2 HSR during cycle 2, and the subsequent grade 3 event occurred despite usual dexamethasone premedication. A sensitivity analysis restricted to patients not known to have received dexamethasone in cycles 3 and 4 found that any‐grade HSRs occurred in 2.7% (3/111; 0.7%–6.8%) and 0.9% (1/109; 0.05%–4.3%) of patients in cycle 3 and 4, respectively.

Conclusion

Corticosteroid premedication can be safely omitted in cycles 3 and 4 of dose‐dense paclitaxel if HSRs are not observed during cycles 1 and 2.

Implications for Practice

Because of the potential for hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to paclitaxel, corticosteroids are routinely prescribed prior to each dose, on an indefinite basis. This prospective study, including 125 patients treated with 486 paclitaxel cycles, demonstrates that corticosteroids can be safely omitted in future cycles if HSRs did not occur during cycles 1 and 2 of paclitaxel and that this strategy reduces the use of corticosteroids in cycles 3 and 4 by 92.8% relative to current standard of care.

To avoid hypersensitivity reactions, corticosteroids are routinely prescribed before each dose of paclitaxel. This article reports the results of a study that focused on whether corticosteroids could be safely omitted in later cycles of treatment if reactions did not occur during earlier cycles.

Intestinal microbiota influences clinical outcome and side effects of early breast cancer treatment

The prognosis of early breast cancer (BC) relies on cell autonomous and immune parameters. The impact of the intestinal microbiome on clinical outcome has not yet been evaluated. Shotgun metagenomics was used to determine the composition of the fecal microbiota in 121 specimens from 76 early BC patients, 45 of whom were paired before and after chemotherapy. These patients were enrolled in the CANTO prospective study designed to record the side effects associated with the clinical management of BC. We analyzed associations between baseline or post-chemotherapy fecal microbiota and plasma metabolomics with BC prognosis, as well as with therapy-induced side effects. We examined the clinical relevance of these findings in immunocompetent mice colonized with BC patient microbiota that were subsequently challenged with histo-compatible mouse BC and chemotherapy. We conclude that specific gut commensals that are overabundant in BC patients compared with healthy individuals negatively impact BC prognosis, are modulated by chemotherapy, and may influence weight gain and neurological side effects of BC therapies. These findings obtained in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings warrant prospective validation.

BEAUTY and the breast: is adjuvant chemotherapy the right time for a beauty boost? Lessons learned from a large randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

Beauty care (BTC) is offered at many cancer hospitals having a great uptake among patients. Nevertheless, its benefits in the Quality of life (QoL) of cancer survivors have not been assessed so far.

METHODS

Our study aims to determine whether BTC improves patients' QoL related to their body image measured by the BRBI scale of the QLQ-BR23 questionnaire at the end of adjuvant chemotherapy, after breast cancer (BC) surgery. The BEAUTY study is a prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial. The following patient-reported outcomes were filled before initiation of chemotherapy (T1) and after their last cycle (T2): EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR23, and Body Image Scale (BIS). Primary objective was improvement in the BIS of BR23 (BRBI). A qualitative assessment of patients' experience was performed at each cycle through a relevant questionnaire.

RESULTS

In total, 269 (67%) patients filled BRBI at T1 and T2. Mean BRBI scores substantially decreased between T1 and T2 and were not different with or without BTC (p = 0.88). Qualitative assessment suggests impact of BTC in physical well-being and avoids thoughts related to the disease.

CONCLUSION

A substantial proportion of patients have a poor body image and chemotherapy induced a substantial degradation of BRBI scores. Although BTC does not seem to impact BRBI scores, the qualitative assessment suggests some benefit of BTC in other domains. Our study highlights the need to assess patients-perceived body image and build tailored interventions at this critical phase of their disease and generates hypothesis for the impact of BTC among BC patients. Clinical trial registration The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under the NCT01459003 number since October 25, 2011.

A phase II study of efficacy, toxicity, and the potential impact of genomic alterations on response to eribulin mesylate in combination with trastuzumab and pertuzumab in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)+ metastatic breast cancer

PURPOSE

There are limited data on trastuzumab-pertuzumab (HP)-based treatments beyond the first-line, HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) setting. We conducted a phase II study of eribulin mesylate, which extends survival in MBC, with HP in patients with previously treated HER2+ MBC to evaluate efficacy, toxicity, and genomic alterations driving therapeutic response.

METHODS

After a run-in phase for eribulin dosing, two cohorts were enrolled (Cohort A-no prior pertuzumab; Cohort B-prior pertuzumab). All patients received eribulin 1.4 mg/m² on days 1, 8 with standard-dose HP on day 1 (21-day cycles). The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Genomic characterization via whole exome sequencing (WES) was completed on tumor DNA and matched germline DNA from 19 patients.

RESULTS

The six-patient run-in established a dose of eribulin 1.4 mg/m² with HP. Cohorts A and B enrolled 17 and 7 patients, respectively. Accrual stopped early due to an evolving treatment landscape and slow enrollment. The ORR was 26.3% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 9.2-51.2%) in Cohort A and 0% in Cohort B (95% CI 0-41.0%). WES revealed more frequent alterations in TP53 (p < 0.05, q > 0.05) in patients without clinical benefit (disease control for < 24 weeks) which was not significant after multiple hypothesis correction.

CONCLUSION

Eribulin-HP had manageable toxicity and modest clinical activity in patients without prior pertuzumab exposure. This study provides a preliminary landscape of somatic alterations in this patient cohort. Our data add to the literature on how genomic alterations may predict for therapy response/resistance, as we work to individualize choices in a quickly evolving HER2+ MBC treatment landscape.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

www.clinicaltrials.gov , NCT01912963. Registered 24 July 2013.

Pregnancy After Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

Many patients and physicians remain concerned about the potential detrimental effects of pregnancy after breast cancer (BC) in terms of reproductive outcomes and maternal safety. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at providing updated evidence on these topics.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted to identify studies including patients with a pregnancy after BC (PROSPERO number CRD42020158324). Likelihood of pregnancy after BC, their reproductive outcomes, and maternal safety were assessed. Pooled relative risks, odds ratios (ORs), and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were calculated using random effects models.

RESULTS

Of 6,462 identified records, 39 were included involving 8,093,401 women from the general population and 112,840 patients with BC of whom 7,505 had a pregnancy after diagnosis. BC survivors were significantly less likely to have a subsequent pregnancy compared with the general population (relative risk, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.49). Risks of caesarean section (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.25), low birth weight (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.31 to 1.73), preterm birth (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.88), and small for gestational age (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.33) were significantly higher in BC survivors, particularly in those with previous chemotherapy exposure, compared with the general population. No significantly increased risk of congenital abnormalities or other reproductive complications were observed. Compared to patients with BC without subsequent pregnancy, those with a pregnancy had better disease-free survival (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.89) and overall survival (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.68). Similar results were observed after correcting for potential confounders and irrespective of patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics, pregnancy outcome, and timing of pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

These results provide reassuring evidence on the safety of conceiving in BC survivors. Patients' pregnancy desire should be considered a crucial component of their survivorship care plan.

Effects of acyl-coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP)/diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) on body mass index

In mice, the plasma concentrations of the appetite-stimulatory and autophagy-inhibitory factor acyl-coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP, also called diazepam-binding inhibitor, DBI) acutely increase in response to starvation, but also do so upon chronic overnutrition leading to obesity. Here, we show that knockout of Acbp/Dbi in adipose tissue is sufficient to prevent high-fat diet-induced weight gain in mice. We investigated ACBP/DBI plasma concentrations in several patient cohorts to discover a similar dual pattern of regulation. In relatively healthy subjects, ACBP/DBI concentrations independently correlated with body mass index (BMI) and age. The association between ACBP/DBI and BMI was lost in subjects that underwent major weight gain in the subsequent 3-9 years, as well as in advanced cancer patients. Voluntary fasting, undernutrition in the context of advanced cancer, as well as chemotherapy were associated with an increase in circulating ACBP/DBI levels. Altogether, these results support the conclusion that ACBP/DBI may play an important role in body mass homeostasis as well as in its failure.

Unhealthy behaviors after breast cancer: Capitalizing on a teachable moment to promote lifestyle improvements

BACKGROUND

This study assessed the prevalence and risk factors of unhealthy behaviors among survivors of early-stage breast cancer.

METHODS

Women (n = 9556) from the CANcer TOxicity cohort (NCT01993498) were included. Physical activity (PA), tobacco and alcohol consumption, and body mass index were assessed at diagnosis and at years 1 and 2 after diagnosis. A behavior was defined as unhealthy if patients failed to meet PA recommendations (≥10 metabolic equivalent task hours per week), reduce/quit tobacco, or decrease alcohol consumption to less than daily, or if they gained substantial weight over time. Multivariable-adjusted generalized estimating equations explored associations with unhealthy behaviors.

RESULTS

At diagnosis, 41.7% of patients were inactive, 18.2% currently used tobacco, 14.6% consumed alcohol daily, and 48.9% were overweight or obese. At years 1 and 2, unhealthy PA behavior was reported among 37.0% and 35.6% of patients, respectively, unhealthy tobacco use behavior was reported among 11.4% and 9.5%, respectively, and unhealthy alcohol behavior was reported among 13.1% and 12.6%, respectively. In comparison with the previous assessment, 9.4% and 5.9% of underweight and normal-weight patients had transitioned to the overweight or obese category at years 1 and 2, respectively, and 15.4% and 16.2% of overweight and obese patients had gained ≥5% of their weight at years 1 and 2, respectively. One in 3 current tobacco smokers and 1 in 10 daily alcohol users reported improved behaviors after diagnosis. Older women (5-year increment) were more likely to be inactive (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.05) and report unhealthy alcohol behavior (aOR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.23-1.33) but were less likely to engage in unhealthy tobacco use (aOR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.78-0.85). Being at risk for depression (vs not being at risk for depression) was associated with reduced odds of unhealthy tobacco use (aOR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46-0.97) and with a higher likelihood of unhealthy alcohol behavior (aOR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.14-2.19). Women with a college education (vs a primary school education) less frequently reported an unhealthy PA behavior (aOR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.51-0.73) and were more likely to report unhealthy alcohol behavior (aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.37-2.49). Receipt of chemotherapy (vs not receiving chemotherapy) was associated with higher odds of gaining weight (aOR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.23-1.87) among those who were overweight or obese at diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of women were adherent to healthy lifestyle behaviors at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis, but a significant subset was nonadherent. Unhealthy behaviors tended to persist after the breast cancer diagnosis, having varying clinical, psychological, sociodemographic, and treatment-related determinants. This study will inform more targeted interventions to promote optimal health.