Poster Spotlight Session 2: Improving QOL and Care Delivery for the Breast Cancer Patient
Tuesday, December 5 • 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. • Hemisfair Ballroom 1-2

Presentation: Is de-escalation of treatment by omission of radiotherapy associated with fear of cancer recurrence and health-related quality of life in women with early breast cancer? An exploratory study

Bruce Mann, MBBS, PhD, FRACS
The Royal Melbourne Hospital,
Melbourne, Australia

What is your presentation about?
This is a quality-of-life (QoL) study based on patients in the PROSPECT study which used MRI and pathology features to identify a group of women in whom radiotherapy (RT) could be safely omitted after breast conserving surgery for early breast cancer. Women in PROSPECT who had pre-op MRI and either did or did not receive RT and a group of women potentially eligible for PROSPECT, but who did not participate, completed a range of validated questionnaires.

The findings were that those who did not have RT had far lower “fear of cancer recurrence” and much better health related QoL than those who had RT, either in PROSPECT or as part of standard treatment.

What makes this topic important in 2023?
De-escalation is an important focus of research, and the impact of de-escalation on various aspects of QoL do not get enough attention. These findings are very reassuring, and suggest that de-escalation is associated with improved QoL, including a reduced level of FCR.

This is particularly timely, as the manuscript of the PROSPECT study is “in press” at The Lancet, with publication likely to coincide with the start of the conference.

How did you get involved in this particular area of breast cancer research, care, or advocacy?
I have always been interested in research to optimise the treatment of early breast cancer. The PROSPECT trial and this associated research are the results of >15 years of work.