What Do We Mean When We Ask for More Metastatic Breast Cancer Research?

Background: Almost all deaths from breast cancer are due to metastasis.People living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and their loved ones have beenconcerned about the lack of research progress. The purposes of this paper were toanalyze breast cancer research spending in Canada, and to evaluate whether MBCresearch was aligned with patient priorities. The results from the MBC PrioritySetting Partnership (MBC PSP) were used as an approximation of patientpriorities.Methods: The data source was the Canadian Cancer Research Survey. MBCprojects were identified and mapped to the patient priorities.Results: This analysis found that ۱۸% of breast cancer research investment wasdirected to MBC, with a large proportion of this research investment focused on thebiology of metastasis. Four of the top ۱۰ MBC PSP priorities had not beenaddressed: optimal sequence of therapy, role of continuous versus intermittenttreatment, benefits of early palliative care, and best methods for patient education.Conclusion: These figures provide a baseline from which any increases inMBC research and improved alignment to patient priorities can be measured. Acooperative effort by funders, researchers, patients, caregivers, and health careproviders is needed to address research gaps.

Keywords:

Breast cancer , metastasis , research priorities , patient engagement