Single-Arm Longitudinal Study to Evaluate a Decision Aid for Women Offered Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy for Operable...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Decision Science
• Patient Education

Background:

• Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) is increasingly used for large or highly proliferative breast cancer.
• NAST offers equivalent survival to up-front surgery, making the decision preference-sensitive.
• Decision aids (DAs) are suitable for preference-sensitive decisions in cancer care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a decision aid (DA) for women considering NAST for breast cancer.
• To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of the DA on decision-related outcomes.
• To determine if the DA can be safely implemented into routine clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• A DA booklet was developed adhering to international standards.
• A multi-institutional, single-arm, longitudinal study enrolled women candidates for NAST.
• Patient-reported outcome measures assessed feasibility, acceptability, and decision-related outcomes pre- and post-DA.

Main Results:

• 79.7% of eligible patients read the DA, and 80.4% found it useful.
• 88.9% of clinicians indicated they would use the DA in routine practice.
• Significant reductions in decisional conflict, anxiety, and distress were observed post-DA.

Conclusions:

• The developed DA is feasible and acceptable to both breast cancer patients and clinicians.
• The DA demonstrated improvements in decision-related outcomes when used alongside clinical consultations.
• This decision aid can be safely integrated into routine practice for women considering NAST.