Abstract 2428: New school health care: Utilizing technology in the treatment and support of women with breast cancer in the ambulatory setting
Authors: Jones Tameka N. , Paladino Andrew J. , Vidal Gregory A. , Krukowski Rebecca , Graff J. Carolyn , Blue Ryan , Graetz Ilana , Schwartzberg Lee , Kocak Mehmet , Anderson Janeane 
Published: August 2019

Background Adjuvant endocrine therapies (AETs) (e.g. tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are almost always prescribed to early stage breast cancer (BrCa) patients as AETs have been shown to reduce risk of recurrence and mortality for women with hormone receptor-positive early stage breast cancer. Despite proven efficacy and patient education efforts, AET adherence is suboptimal. Most patients report symptom burden as the most common cause for non-adherence. We conducted focus groups among this patient population to aid in the refinement of a communication app for patients to report symptoms to their healthcare team and receive tailored feedback messages. The app aims to improve AET adherence, symptom management, and quality of life.

Method Four focus groups (N=28), stratified by race (Black and White) and patient length of time on AET ( &lt; 6 months AET use or &gt; 6 months AET use), were conducted in Memphis, Tennessee. The focus groups were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed to identify key themes.

Results Participants indicated they would be open to utilizing technology throughout their cancer treatment. The app was viewed as a conduit in the exchange of information between the patient and their healthcare team. Even patients who typically did not use or “like” technology thought the messages and symptom management information would be beneficial. Reporting symptoms through the app and then receiving a phone call from their healthcare team to respond to those symptoms was viewed as the most beneficial component to the patients. One participant stated how she could see the benefit of the symptom reporting feature when first initiating AET therapy: “There were times when I wanted to go tell my doctor, “STOP THIS MEDICINE RIGHT NOW, find me something else to do, find something else besides this because this stuff is not working for me.” In regards to the tailored feedback messaging through the app, participant stated, “I like the one that says, ‘Take meds regularly is an effective way to prevent cancer from coming back,’ because for me that is the only reason why I take it SOME days just to make sure that it doesn’t come back because I HATE the stuff.”

Conclusions Early stage hormone receptor positive breast cancer patients may benefit from utilizing technology in the management of their care. The use of a communication app with tailored feedback messaging has the potential to increase medication adherence, improve symptom management and quality of life, improve the provider- patient relationship, and ultimately reduce mortality. As healthcare shifts toward focusing on patient-centered care and preparing patients to manage their care at home, apps like the one examined in the current study may play a vital role in helping these and other patient populations.

Citation Format: Tameka N. Jones, Andrew J. Paladino, Gregory A. Vidal, Rebecca Krukowski, J. Carolyn Graff, Ryan Blue, Ilana Graetz, Lee Schwartzberg, Mehmet Kocak, Janeane Anderson. New school health care: Utilizing technology in the treatment and support of women with breast cancer in the ambulatory setting [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2428.