Technology-based supportive care for metastatic breast cancer patients

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Digital Health
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients are living longer, increasing the need for effective symptom management.
• Technology-based interventions offer potential solutions for addressing the symptom burden in MBC.
• Virtual assistants may provide a novel approach to support patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a virtual assistant, Nurse AMIE (Addressing Metastatic Individuals Everyday), on symptom management in MBC patients.
• To assess the feasibility, usability, and satisfaction of using the Amazon Echo Show with Alexa for MBC symptom management.
• To determine the impact of the virtual assistant on psychosocial distress, pain, sleep, fatigue, quality of life, and physical function.

Main Methods:

• A partial crossover randomized trial involving 42 MBC patients was conducted over 6 months.
• Participants were randomized to receive immediate or delayed (3-month delay) intervention with Nurse AMIE.
• Data on symptoms, function, feasibility, usability, and satisfaction were collected at baseline and 3 months.

Main Results:

• No significant improvements were observed in psychosocial distress, pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, quality of life, or chair stand tests.
• Despite the lack of significant clinical effects, high levels of acceptability (51%), feasibility (65%), and satisfaction (70%) were reported.
• Participants were 53 ± 11 years old, with an average of 4 ± 7 years since diagnosis of metastatic disease.

Conclusions:

• The high acceptability, feasibility, and satisfaction suggest the virtual assistant platform warrants further investigation.
• The absence of statistically significant effects may be attributed to the small sample size.
• Future research should explore larger cohorts to validate the potential of this technology in MBC symptom management.