Nurse-Led Individualized Follow-Up Versus Regular Physician-Led Visits After Early Breast Cancer (MyHealth): A Phase III Randomized, Controlled Trial

Lena Saltbæk*, Pernille E Bidstrup, Randi V Karlsen, Beverley L Høeg, Trine A Horsboel, Federica Belmonte, Elisabeth A W Andersen, Vibeke Zoffmann, Anne S Friberg, Mads N Svendsen, Helle G Christensen, Vesna Glavicic, Dorte L Nielsen, Susanne O Dalton, Christoffer Johansen

*Corresponding author for this work

Abstract

PURPOSE: Follow-up after breast cancer with regular visits has failed to detect recurrences, be cost-effective, and address patient needs.

METHODS: MyHealth is a phase III randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02949167). Patients, who recently completed primary treatment for stage I-II breast cancer, were randomly assigned in variable block sizes and stratified by age and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status to intervention or control follow-up. The nurse-led intervention comprised three to five individual self-management sessions, regular reporting of symptoms, and navigation to health care services. The control follow-up comprised regular outpatient visits with the physician. The primary outcome was breast cancer-specific quality of life (QoL) measured by the Trial Outcome Index-Physical/Functional/Breast summary score of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast 2 years after random assignment. Secondary outcomes were fear of recurrence, anxiety, depression, and health care utilization. Analyses were intention-to-treat and P values were two-sided with 95% confidence level set at 0.005 because of multiple comparisons.

RESULTS: Among 1,101 eligible patients, 875 were invited and 503 were randomly assigned to control (n = 252) or intervention (n = 251) follow-up. At 2 years, patients in the intervention group reported a significantly and clinically relevant higher QoL (mean, 75.69 [standard deviation [SD], 12.27]) than patients in the control group (71.26 [SD, 14.08]), with a mean difference of 5.05 (95% CI, 3.30 to 6.79; P < .001). The intervention group reported significantly less fear of recurrence, anxiety, and depression; they had fewer physician consultations but more nurse contacts and an unchanged diagnostic imaging pattern. The effect on all outcomes was stable through a 3-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION: The MyHealth study suggested a new strategy for follow-up after early breast cancer as it provided significant improvements in QoL.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Volume42
Issue number17
Pages (from-to)2038-2049
Number of pages12
ISSN0732-183X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jun 2024

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Breast Neoplasms/nursing
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Quality of Life

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