Assessment of the functional and health-related needs of patients with metastatic breast cancer prior to initiation of cancer treatment.

Purpose: To identify needs of metastatic breast cancer patients prior to starting a new systemic treatment.
Methods: Fifty patients with newly diagnosed, recurrent, or progressive metastatic breast cancer completed an electronic survey which included patient-reported outcome measures of function (PROMIS Cancer Function Brief 3D profile), quality of life (FACT-G), exercise (Godin Leisure-Time exercise questionnaire), and diet (REAP-S); demographic information; and self-reported use of or referral to specific resources at the cancer center prior to beginning a new systemic oncologic treatment.
Results: Prior to starting a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer, patients reported mild functional impairment (PROMIS Cancer Function Brief 3D profile mean score:42.1) and low quality of life (FACT-G: 50%) along with low diet quality (REAP-S mean score: 29). Fifty-two percent of patients were sedentary (Godin Leisure-Time exercise questionnaire) and major barriers to exercise were pain (38%) and fatigue (34%); however, patients expressed a high level of interest (86%) in improving their ability to tolerate cancer treatment by addressing these areas.
Conclusion: Patients with new or recurrent metastatic breast cancer face health-related issues including sedentary behavior, poor diet, and limitations including pain and fatigue that can be addressed in prehabilitative efforts prior to starting a new oncologic treatment.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: SEK received unrelated speaker honorarium from Harvard Medical School. Ethical approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the institutional review board at the University of North Carolina.
(© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)