Effect of receiving a customizable brochure on breast cancer patients' knowledge about their diagnosis and treatment: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients' lack of knowledge about their own disease may function as a barrier to shared decision-making and well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of written educational materials on breast cancer patients. METHODS: This multicenter, parallel, unblinded, randomized trial included Latin American women aged ≥18 years with a recent breast cancer diagnosis yet to start systemic therapy. Participants underwent randomization in a 1:1 ratio to receive a customizable or standard educational brochure. The primary objective was accurate identification of molecular subtype. Secondary objectives included identification of clinical stage, treatment options, participation in decision-making, perceived quality of information received, and illness uncertainty. Follow-up occurred at 7-21 and 30-51 days post-randomization. CLINICALTRIALS: gov identifier: NCT05798312. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-five breast cancer patients with a median age of 53 years and 61 days from diagnosis were included (customizable: 82; standard: 83). At first available assessment, 52%, 48%, and 30% identified their molecular subtype, disease stage, and guideline-endorsed systemic treatment strategy, respectively. Accurate molecular subtype and stage identification were similar between groups. Per multivariate analysis, customizable brochure recipients were more likely to identify their guideline-recommended treatment modalities (OR: 4.20,p = 0.001). There were no differences between groups in the perceived quality of information received or illness uncertainty. Customizable brochure recipients reported increased participation in decision-making (p = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Over one third of recently diagnosed breast cancer patients are incognizant of their disease characteristics and treatment options. This study demonstrates a need to improve patient education and shows that customizable educational materials increase patients' understanding of recommended systemic therapies according to individual breast cancer characteristics.

Prioritization of Patients with Abnormal Breast Findings in the Alerta Rosa Navigation Program to Reduce Diagnostic Delays.

INTRODUCTION: In Mexico, there are considerable health system delays in the diagnosis and treatment initiation of women with breast cancer. Alerta Rosa is a navigation program in Nuevo Leon that aims to reduce barriers that impede the timely management of these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Since December 2017, women who registered to receive medical evaluations by Alerta Rosa were stratified based on their clinical characteristics into three priority groups ("Red," "Yellow," and "Green"). According to the category assigned, patients were scheduled imaging studies and medical appointments with breast specialists on a preferential basis. RESULTS: Up until December 2019, 561 patients were scheduled for medical evaluations. Of them, 59% were classified as "Red," 25% "Yellow," and 16% "Green" priority. The median time from stratification to first medical evaluation was 4, 6, and 7 days, respectively (p = .003). Excluding those who had a prior breast cancer diagnosis, 21 patients were diagnosed by Alerta Rosa, with the initial "Red" priority classification demonstrating a sensitivity of 95% (95% confidence interval [CI], 75.1%-99.9%) and specificity of 42% (95% CI, 37.1%-47.1%) for breast cancer. The median time elapsed from initial patient contact to diagnosis and treatment initiation was 16 days and 39 days, respectively. The majority (72%) of patients were diagnosed at an early stage (0-II). CONCLUSION: This patient prioritization system adequately identified women with different probabilities of having breast cancer. Efforts to replicate similar triage systems in resource-constrained settings where screening programs are ineffective could prove to be beneficial in reducing diagnostic intervals and achieving early-stage diagnoses. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Low- and middle-income countries such as Mexico currently lack the infrastructure to achieve effective breast cancer screening and guarantee prompt access to health care when required. To reduce the disease burden in such settings, strategies targeting early detection are urgently needed. Patient navigation programs aid in the reduction of health system intervals and optimize the use of available resources. This article presents the introduction of a triage system based on initial patient concern. Appointment prioritization proved to be successful at reducing health system intervals and achieving early-stage diagnoses by overcoming barriers that impede early access to quality medical care.

Alerta Rosa: Novel Alert and Navigation Breast Cancer Program in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, for Reducing Health System Interval Delays.

BACKGROUND: In Mexico, the median time between breast cancer (BC) symptom detection and treatment initiation is approximately 7 months. Alerta Rosa is a program that was developed with the intent of breaking down medical care barriers and reduce delays. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Through several media campaigns, we reached out to patients with breast symptoms or abnormal imaging studies. Patients contacted our call center or Facebook page. A navigator recorded their main complaint and scheduled a medical consultation with a specialist. We prioritized patients according to clinical risk. Those diagnosed with BC were referred to their health affiliation unit for care. RESULTS: To date, 656 patients have contacted our program. Median age was 44 years (range, 7-82). Patients reported becoming aware of Alerta Rosa mainly by word of mouth and TV. A total of 446 medical consultations were scheduled, and 309 patients attended their appointments. A biopsy procedure was solicited for 39 patients, and 22 were diagnosed with BC. Most patients had stage II (45%) or stage III (32%) disease. The median time from alert activation to treatment initiation was 33 days (range, 19-56) and from first medical evaluation to treatment initiation was 28 days (range, 16-48). CONCLUSION: In low- or middle-income countries, where BC screening programs do not effectively reach the target population, it is crucial to focus efforts in identifying and prioritizing symptomatic patients or those with abnormal imaging studies to ultimately downstage BC. Alerta Rosa proved to be successful in reducing health system intervals and could be replicated and adapted for other limited resource settings. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: In countries such as Mexico, infrastructure and financial drawbacks limit the implementation of effective screening mammography programs. This article presents a novel and effective alternative to optimize resources and reduce health system intervals, so that patients in limited-resource settings can have access to prompt quality care. This strategy for early breast cancer detection focused efforts in prioritizing symptomatic women and those with abnormal breast imaging studies. This article presents novel information that will be useful for the development of effective early breast cancer detection with a focus on opportunistic rather than population-screening mammography in low-resource settings.