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Review
. 2023 Jun;11(2):199-229.
doi: 10.1007/s40487-023-00225-8. Epub 2023 Apr 1.

The Future of Breast Cancer Research in the Survivorship Field

D Soldato  1   2   3   4 , L Arecco  1   2 , E Agostinetto  5 , M A Franzoi  3   4 , E Mariamidze  6 , S Begijanashvili  7 , N Brunetti  8 , S Spinaci  9 , C Solinas  10 , I Vaz-Luis  3   4 , A Di Meglio  3   4 , M Lambertini  11   12
Affiliations
Review

The Future of Breast Cancer Research in the Survivorship Field

D Soldato et al. Oncol Ther. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Prevalence of survivors of breast cancer has been steadily increasing in the last 20 years. Currently, more than 90% of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer are expected to be alive at 5 years from diagnosis thanks to early detection and breakthrough innovations in multimodal treatment strategies. Alongside this advancement in clinical outcomes, survivors of breast cancer might experience several specific challenges and present with unique needs. Survivorship trajectories after diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can be significantly impacted by long-lasting and severe treatment-related side effects, including physical problems, psychological distress, fertility issues in young women, and impaired social and work reintegration, which add up to patients' individual risk of cancer recurrence and second primary malignancies. Alongside cancer-specific sequelae, survivors still present with general health needs, including management of chronic preexisting or ensuing conditions. Survivorship care should implement high-quality, evidence-based strategies to promptly screen, identify, and address survivors' needs in a comprehensive way and minimize the impact of severe treatment sequelae, preexisting comorbidities, unhealthy lifestyles, and risk of recurrence on quality of life. This narrative review focuses on core areas of survivorship care and discuss the state of the art and future research perspectives in key domains including selected long-term side effects, surveillance for recurrences and second cancers, well-being promotion, and specific survivors' needs.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Supportive care; Survivorship.

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Conflict of interest statement

Davide Soldato, Luca Arecco, Maria Alice Franzoi, Elene Mariamidze, Salome Begijanashvili, Nicole Brunetti, Stefano Spinaci, Cinzia Solinas, Ines Vaz-Luis, and Antonio Di Meglio declare that they have no competing interests. Elisa Agostinetto received consultancy fees/honoraria from Eli Lilly, Sandoz, AstraZeneca, and support for attending medical conferences from Novartis, Roche, Eli Lilly, Genetic, Istituto Gentili, Daiichi Sankyo (all outside the submitted work). Matteo Lambertini reports advisory role for Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Seagen, Gilead, MSD, and Exact Sciences and speaker honoraria from Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sandoz, Libbs, Daiichi Sankyo, and Takeda, travel grants from Gilead and research support (to the institution) from Gilead outside the submitted work.

Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Future research perspectives in the four main areas of survivorship care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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