Importance of Providing Tailored Resources to Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Results of the Global BRIDGE Survey

Introduction Life expectancy for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has increased as advances have been made in treatment and management. Consequently, when measuring the burden of MBC, womens9 experiences, quality of life, and gaps in information and support needs should be considered. The BRIDGE Survey (Bridging Gaps, Expanding Outreach – Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient Survey) was conducted in the US, Europe, Latin America and Africa to evaluate patients9 (pts) own perceptions of living with MBC; results are presented here. Methods A Steering Committee of 3 international oncology thought leaders, 4 pt advocates, and a global public health organization was set up with the support of Pfizer Inc. to develop a quantitative survey (Harris Interactive®). To provide a balance between low and high-resource countries, women in the US, UK, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Mexico, and Egypt aged ≥18 years with stage IV/metastatic disease were recruited and interviewed. Survey methods included telephone, mail, and in-person interviews, dependent on country and pt preference. The 34-item questionnaire took ∼25-mins to complete. Topics included MBC resources, support networks, attention given to MBC vs. early breast cancer (EBC) and personal impact of the disease. Pts were also asked if they had ever participated in, or searched for information about, clinical trials. Results In total, 950 women completed the survey, referred by ∼20 physicians in each of the 9 participating countries. Most women (53%) felt that MBC was given too little consideration compared with EBC. 75% actively sought information on MBC but 51% felt that available information did not address their needs. Written materials were most frequently used, although many women found the internet most helpful. Those women who sought information were more likely to take an active role in treatment decisions and be more optimistic in outlook. Globally, 18% of women reported that they had participated in a clinical trial, with encouragement to do so by a healthcare professional being the most common reason given (77%). Numerous country-specific differences were observed, most notably in ease of finding information, whether available information meets pt needs, need for medical vs. non-medical information, and clinical trial participation. There were also country-specific differences in womens9 level of optimism on diagnosis. Conclusions These results suggest that women with MBC have different needs from those of pts with EBC and that these needs are not always being met. Women are asking for information relevant both to their culture and to their disease stage. Further results will be presented, and will be discussed in the context of a recently published MBC Consensus Report compiled by the MBC Advocacy Working Group ( Community Oncology 2008;5[12]; Breast 2009 [In Press]). Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3085.