Research is vital to improving breast cancer outcomes, but it is essential that research studies ask questions that patients and clinicians think are important and are designed to reflect clinical practice so they are feasible and can recruit in busy units.
Ideally, we'd like to be able to offer a clinical trial to every breast cancer patient, but there are currently very few studies in early breast cancer that are open and this needs to change.
We want clinicians who are involved in treating patients with early breast cancer to help us decide what areas the next generation of breast cancer trials should focus on. As professionals working with patients every day, you are ideally placed to tell us where you think research is needed.
We want your help to work out what the next big 3-4 NIHR funded trials in early breast cancer should be. What trials do we and our patients need?
In scope are questions related to the multidisciplinary management of early breast cancer (defined as Stage 0-III disease being treated with curative intent). These include questions relating to:
- Surgery to the breast or axilla
- Radiotherapy
- Chemotherapy and other targeted treatments
- CDK 4/6 inhibitors (e.g. Ribociclib)
- Endocrine therapy
- Best supportive care or management of complications/toxicities
- Management of patients with isolated locoregional recurrences (i.e. ipsilateral breast and/or axilla only)
- Omitting treatments or reducing extent of treatment
- Sequencing of treatments
Out of scope are questions related to
- Breast cancer diagnosis exclusively (including screening)
- Benign breast disease and indeterminate 'B3' lesions
- Women at high breast cancer risk who have not had a breast cancer
- Management of patients with stage IV (metastatic) disease
- Exclusively translational or basic science studies
You do not need to have a fully formed ‘research question’, but we want to hear about areas where you think a research study would help us work out the best management for specific groups of patients with early breast cancer e.g. patients with breast cancer recurrence or low risk disease. Think about what issues cause debate at your MDT meeting or when you feel uncertain about what treatment to offer or whether all the treatments you are offering a patient are needed.
Don’t worry about what research may already have been done. Once everyone has submitted their ideas, we will check whether any of the questions have already been answered or are being looked at by ongoing trials.
We will then ask patients and clinicians to choose which of the submitted questions they think are most important and should be answered next. We will agree the final top research questions at a workshop attended by patients and clinicians.
The next step will be to convene working groups to design future studies in collaboration with patients. There will be opportunities for individuals who haven’t been involved in trials before to get involved in developing these studies, helping to develop the trialists of the future.
This project is being led collaboratively by the RCS Breast Surgery Specialty leads, the UK Breast Cancer Clinical Studies Group and the UK Breast Intergroup with the support of the professional associations, the Association of Breast Surgery (ABS), UK Breast Cancer Group (UKBCG), British Society of Breast Radiology (BSBR), the Association of Breast Pathology (ABP) and Independent Cancer Patients’ Voice (ICPV).
Ideally, we'd like to be able to offer a clinical trial to every breast cancer patient, but there are currently very few studies in early breast cancer that are open and this needs to change.
We want clinicians who are involved in treating patients with early breast cancer to help us decide what areas the next generation of breast cancer trials should focus on. As professionals working with patients every day, you are ideally placed to tell us where you think research is needed.
We want your help to work out what the next big 3-4 NIHR funded trials in early breast cancer should be. What trials do we and our patients need?
In scope are questions related to the multidisciplinary management of early breast cancer (defined as Stage 0-III disease being treated with curative intent). These include questions relating to:
- Surgery to the breast or axilla
- Radiotherapy
- Chemotherapy and other targeted treatments
- CDK 4/6 inhibitors (e.g. Ribociclib)
- Endocrine therapy
- Best supportive care or management of complications/toxicities
- Management of patients with isolated locoregional recurrences (i.e. ipsilateral breast and/or axilla only)
- Omitting treatments or reducing extent of treatment
- Sequencing of treatments
Out of scope are questions related to
- Breast cancer diagnosis exclusively (including screening)
- Benign breast disease and indeterminate 'B3' lesions
- Women at high breast cancer risk who have not had a breast cancer
- Management of patients with stage IV (metastatic) disease
- Exclusively translational or basic science studies
You do not need to have a fully formed ‘research question’, but we want to hear about areas where you think a research study would help us work out the best management for specific groups of patients with early breast cancer e.g. patients with breast cancer recurrence or low risk disease. Think about what issues cause debate at your MDT meeting or when you feel uncertain about what treatment to offer or whether all the treatments you are offering a patient are needed.
Don’t worry about what research may already have been done. Once everyone has submitted their ideas, we will check whether any of the questions have already been answered or are being looked at by ongoing trials.
We will then ask patients and clinicians to choose which of the submitted questions they think are most important and should be answered next. We will agree the final top research questions at a workshop attended by patients and clinicians.
The next step will be to convene working groups to design future studies in collaboration with patients. There will be opportunities for individuals who haven’t been involved in trials before to get involved in developing these studies, helping to develop the trialists of the future.
This project is being led collaboratively by the RCS Breast Surgery Specialty leads, the UK Breast Cancer Clinical Studies Group and the UK Breast Intergroup with the support of the professional associations, the Association of Breast Surgery (ABS), UK Breast Cancer Group (UKBCG), British Society of Breast Radiology (BSBR), the Association of Breast Pathology (ABP) and Independent Cancer Patients’ Voice (ICPV).
Help us design better studies that ask questions that matter and can and will improve outcomes for our patients.
We need you!
Please tell us what you think!
When submitting your ideas, think about
- the specific patient group you are interested
- the treatments you think should be compared
- any outcomes you think may be important
- 'blue sky' ideas are also welcome!
These do not have to be perfect research questions.
We need you!
Please tell us what you think!
When submitting your ideas, think about
- the specific patient group you are interested
- the treatments you think should be compared
- any outcomes you think may be important
- 'blue sky' ideas are also welcome!
These do not have to be perfect research questions.
We are interested in the areas of early breast cancer management where you think research is needed.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO SUBMIT 3 QUESTIONS