Abstract P6-12-02: Association between a dedicated program for young breast cancer patients and discussion about fertility preservation

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: To assess whether a dedicated program, including a nurse navigator, improves the frequency of: a) documentation of fertility discussion and b) referrals for fertility preservation (FP). Methods: A retrospective chart review and prospective survey were undertaken of a cohort of young breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2011-2013 at two academic centres in Toronto, Ontario. The Odette Cancer Center (OCC) has a dedicated program for young breast cancer patients while Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) does not. Documentation of fertility discussion prior to receipt of systemic therapy was extracted from patient records. Prospective surveys were administered to the same cohort to corroborate data collected. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize baseline patient variables. Chi-squared was used to compare categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables between the two cancer centres. Statistical significance was defined as p<0.05. Results: At OCC and PM respectively, 91 and 81 patient charts were reviewed while 54 and 49 women returned surveys for response rates of 59% and 60% . Chart reviews demonstrated no difference in the frequency of documentation of fertility discussion (80% versus 75% for OCC and PM, p=0.44); however, surveys demonstrated higher recall of fertility discussion rates at OCC (96% versus 83%, p=0.046). A greater proportion of women were offered FP referrals at OCC, as observed in both chart reviews (53% versus 41%, p=0.18) and surveys (70% versus 46%, p=0.02). Time to initiation of chemotherapy did not significantly differ between women who underwent FP and those who did not. Conclusion: A dedicated program for young women with breast cancer including a nurse navigator is associated with a higher frequency of FP referrals without delaying systemic therapy. Citation Format: Srikanthan A, Amir E, Warner E. Association between a dedicated program for young breast cancer patients and discussion about fertility preservation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-12-02.