A Longitudinal Study of the Trajectory of Financial Toxicity and Its Relationship With Symptom Burden in Breast Cancer Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Breast cancer has become the leading cause of global cancer incidence. With the improvement of treatment methods, some breast cancer patients have experienced different degrees of financial toxicity, which seriously affected the quality of life, treatment compliance and treatment outcomes of patients. Currently, there are some related studies on financial toxicity in breast cancer patients, but they are mainly cross-sectional studies, lacking the use of validated financial toxicity tools to measure the longitudinal change trajectory of financial toxicity. The financial toxicity of breast cancer patients may change dynamically with the treatment stage, expenditure and time, so it is necessary to conduct a rigorously designed prospective study to explore the trajectory of financial toxicity. In addition, previous studies have showed that financial toxicity may be associated with anxiety, distress, pain and overall symptom burden. However, the relevant evidence is currently limited. This study is designed as a prospective longitudinal study to explore the trajectory of financial toxicity and its influencing factors in breast cancer patients in China, and to focus on the relationship between symptom burden and financial toxicity, which will help clinicians identify potential high-risk populations, and provide a new perspective for future intervention programs.

Official Title
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A Longitudinal Study of the Trajectory of Financial Toxicity and Its Relationship With Symptom Burden in Breast Cancer Patients

Conditions
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Financial Toxicity

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery Be going to receive one or more of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, endocrine therapy, and immunotherapy With the ability to understand and communicate in Chinese Provided informed consent Exclusion Criteria: Illness was considered too severe for participation With cognitive or psychiatric disorders

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Financial toxicity | Measured with the Comprehensive Scores for Financial Toxicity Based on The Patient-reported Outcome Measures (COST-PROM). The total score is 0-44, and the lower the score, the more severe financial toxicity. | Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months | 
| Physical symptom burden | Measured with the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Eight Symptom Scale (BESS), which is a 5-point severity scale. The higher the score, the more severe the physical symptom burden. | Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months | 
| Psychological symptom burden | Measured with Psychologic Symptom Distress Score (PHYS) of Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form (MSAS-SF), which adopted Likert 4 scale. The higher the score, the more severe the psychological symptom burden. | Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months |