Understanding CARdiac Events in Breast Cancer

In Ireland, over 3,000 patients are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and 1 in 9 Irish women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. There is evidence that female breast cancer survivors are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than their age-matched counterparts. This research is focused on evaluating pathways for identifying, managing, and overcoming side effects of cancer therapies that can negatively impact quality-of-life and overall outcomes for women during and after cancer treatment. The Cardio-oncology research team at GUH plan to capitalize on their expertise in both cancer care and cardiology to develop a care pathway for cancer patients who are at increased risk of developing heart disease.

Establishment of a Cardio-Oncology assessment and surveillance pathway for breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant systemic chemotherapy at GUH and the assessment of the feasibility of trialing this approach for risk assessment and early detection of CTRCD in a multicenter, prospective RCT which will inform future development of clinical services for cancer patients nationally and later internationally. Study Design: This study is a prospective, single arm, pilot feasibility study. Study Population: The study will focus on adult female patients diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer (BC). Data Analysis and Statistics: The PCORE Investigators have established collaboration with biostatisticians at the INSIGHT SFI centre for data analytics within University of Galway for analysis of the multi-component dataset from UCARE. Questionnaire data to assess health related QoL (quality of life) and physical activity will be collected at baseline and at 6-monthly intervals at 3, 6 and 12 months throughout the study period. Clinically important differences in physical activity levels or HR-QoL scores will be recorded as per the tool specific scoring systems. Multivariate analysis will be performed for association between HRQoL measures and predictors in patients undergoing breast cancer treatment. Baseline to 6, 12, 18 and 24 month changes in HRQoL over time will be described in subgroups defined by their treatment characteristics and tumor and host response to therapy (both oncologic and cardio-toxic).