Abstract P4-11-28: Collecting quality of life information in a cohort of breast cancer survivors- Integrating electronic data collection into clinical practice
Authors: Clara Amat, Ángeles Fuentes, Imma Grau, Raimundo Lozano-Rubí, Olga Martinez-Sáez, Nuria Chic, Barbara Adamo, Maria Vidal, Irene Fernandez, Antonis Valachis, Thanos Kosmidis, Miltiadis Kokkonidis, Montserrat Muñoz
Journal: Cancer Research (2022)

Abstract Background: With the increase of the cancer survivor population, the Quality of Life (QoL) of these patients has become a topic of interest. Breast cancer survivors often suffer physical, emotional, and social consequences due to cancer diagnosis and treatment that impact their overall QoL. However, physicians still have the challenge of collecting reliable data directly from patients with a method that is time- and resource-saving. The Horizon2020 European project “Artificial Intelligence to Support CAncer Patients across Europe (ASCAPE)” aims to use artificial intelligence to help doctors improve the QoL of cancer survivors. Under the context of this project, the purpose was to study the prevalence of chronic side effects in breast cancer survivors collected through two electronic platforms as well as the adherence of patients to these platforms. Methods: The study involved breast cancer survivors where initial treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy concluded at least 1 year prior to inclusion. Participants are asked to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30, BR23 and the HADS questionnaires as well as standalone questions using a Likert-scale approach. The symptoms of interest in this study are shown in Table 1. Participants are followed for 1 year, in which the initial contact and data collection is done face-to-face, and patients receive questionnaires through email to be completed remotely every 3 months. The two electronic platforms used to collect QoL data from patients are: 1) OntoCR, an electronic database based in ontologies that is connected to the electronic health records and is also used to collect data directly from patients, and 2) the Xemio app, a smartphone application that allows patients to register their symptoms and then they are automatically sent to OntoCR. Approximately half of the patients have access to the Xemio app on their phone and can use it. Results: As of now, fifty eight breast cancer survivors have been included in this study cohort. The mean age of the participants is 55.7 years (SD: 8.9 years) and the mean time since initial diagnosis is 3.7 years (SD: 2.3 years). 62% of the participants have undergone chemotherapy and 93% are undergoing endocrine therapy at the time of enrollment. Table 1 shows the proportion of participants with the symptoms of interest at baseline. Of the 24 participants with the Xemio app in their smartphone, 63% have reported symptoms through the app. The symptom most reported through the app is joint pain, which has been reported by 8 participants. Regarding adherence to the data collection methodology, 20/24 (83%) of participants have answered the questionnaires electronically at 3 months and 6/7 (86%) also did it at 6 months. Some participants have not responded to questionnaires (3 at 3 months and 3 at 6 months). Recruitment to the study is ongoing and more complete data will be presented at the conference. Conclusion: The prevalence of long-term side effects in our study cohort of breast cancer survivors is high but there are no clear remedial tracks from oncology departments from which patients can try to solve these symptoms. Electronic platforms can be a helpful tool to capture the QoL and side effects of breast cancer survivors facilitating the long-term follow-up of this population. These platforms can be time-effective for healthcare professionals once they are integrated into their working system. Citation Format: Clara Amat, Ángeles Fuentes, Imma Grau, Raimundo Lozano-Rubí, Olga Martinez-Sáez, Nuria Chic, Barbara Adamo, Maria Vidal, Irene Fernandez, Antonis Valachis, Thanos Kosmidis, Miltiadis Kokkonidis, Montserrat Muñoz. Collecting quality of life information in a cohort of breast cancer survivors- Integrating electronic data collection into clinical practice [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 P4-11-28.