Metastatic Breast Cancer Symptom Awareness for Patients

For patients with metastatic breast cancer, new or worsening symptoms can occur between appointments, and it may not always be clear when to contact the cancer care team. Dr. Maria Margarete Karsten and her colleagues studied whether weekly digital symptom monitoring could help identify these changes sooner in the PRO B trial.

Patients completed weekly smartphone questionnaires, with alerts prompting their care team to follow up when symptoms worsened. Beyond the study findings, Karsten said patients described the monitoring as a “safety net” and reported feeling more in control of their symptoms.

In an interview, Dr. Karsten, senior physician at the Breast Center at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, discussed what patients told researchers about weekly symptom monitoring. Karsten noted that cancer therapy has changed dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years, with more therapeutic targets and complicated treatment pathways.

As a result, patients with advanced breast cancer are living longer, but they’re still not seen as frequently as clinicians would like. Karsten felt that closer monitoring of side effects was needed, and the team developed a system to help patients and clinicians systematically collect data on symptoms.

The system includes an alert system that notifies clinicians if something is off, allowing them to reach out to the patient. Karsten said that patients felt like they had better control of their symptoms and a second safety net that they could fall back on.

One patient said that the monitoring system “actually saved my life twice” by detecting symptoms that needed attention. Karsten noted that symptoms may go unmentioned during appointments due to the technical aspects of the visit or because patients may not think to mention them.

The monitoring data can be used in clinic to identify changes in symptoms and address them immediately. Karsten said that patients told researchers that they felt like they had better control of their symptoms.

For patients with metastatic breast cancer, having access to a monitoring system like this could be beneficial. Dr. Karsten recommends that patients join a monitoring system if they have the ability to do so, as it can provide a sense of security and control over their symptoms.

To implement weekly symptom monitoring in routine cancer care, Dr. Karsten notes that a technical platform is needed, as well as contracts and processes within the health care system.

Patients can download an app and connect to the system, which allows clinicians to access their data and provide feedback.

As the medical field continues to evolve, it’s essential to consider the role of technology in improving patient care. In the case of metastatic breast cancer, weekly symptom monitoring has shown promise in identifying changes in symptoms and improving patient outcomes.