Abstract P6-05-21: Quality of Life and Perspectives of Older Adults with Early & Locally Advanced Breast Cancers Undergoing Pre-operative Therapy

Abstract

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the commonest diagnosed cancer in Singaporean women. Increasingly, non-metastatic BC are treated aggressively with neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). Early identification and addressing supportive care needs of NAT treated patients is important for effective cancer care whilst maintaining optimal physical, psychological and social function. This project aims to explore the longitudinal trends of quality of life (QOL) of BC patients enrolled in a NAT program. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of females aged 21 diagnosed with non-metastatic BC, referred to the NAT program at the SingHealth network of acute hospitals. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) was used as a health related QOL measure prior to NAT, within 2 months post definitive breast surgery and at 1-year post diagnosis. In older adults (OA) ≥65 years, the Attitude scale, Now vs Later as well as Health Outcome tool were also performed at baseline. Here we report pre-NAT baseline FACT-B and questionnaire results of OA patients recruited into the NAT program between Jun 2020 and Jun 2021. Results: Pre-NAT median FACT-B scores was 117 (IQR 102-126) for the entire cohort (n=119) and 116 (IQR 104-126) for OA (n=22). OA had significantly lower median Social Wellbeing score at baseline compared to patients < 65 years (p=0.01), while Physical, Emotional, and Functional Wellbeing were not significantly different. More than 50% of OA favoured QOL over quantity of life on the Attitude Scale. 68% of patients would rather have QOL now than 1 year later with half expecting their QOL to reduce by 50% in this time period. When the time scale was extended to 5 years, 64% would rather have QOL 5-years from now instead of QOL now with close to 80% expecting their QOL to be lower in 5 years than presently. Of the 4 outcomes, maintaining independence scored the highest, followed by keeping alive, then reducing/eliminating pain and other symptoms. Conclusion: Our study suggests that OA with BC report similar QOL to younger patients at baseline prior to NAT. Majority of OA patients favoured QOL over quantity of life, and viewed the ability to maintain independence as more important than survival prolongation representing their unique attitude towards cancer treatment and outcomes. Citation Format: Jun Ma, Zewen Zhang, Jasmine Yun Ting Tan, Whee Sze Ong, Sulastri Kamis, Benita Kiat Tee Tan, Veronique Kiak Mien Tan, Ravindran Kanesvaran, Tira Jing Ying Tan. Quality of Life and Perspectives of Older Adults with Early & Locally Advanced Breast Cancers Undergoing Pre-operative Therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-05-21.