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Optimizing Surgical Decisions in Young Adults With Breast Cancer

NCT ID: NCT06275126Sponsor: Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityLast updated: 2025-09-09

Summary

The goal of this study is to understand and improve the breast surgical decision-making process for young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of this study, the investigators will evaluate the impact and use a web-based tool called CONSYDER that is designed to provide useful information to young breast cancer patients. It is also meant to improve communication between young women and their surgeons with the purpose of helping patients make appropriate surgical decisions. Participants will complete surveys approximately within 1 week of the surgical consult and approximately 6 months after surgery. Patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy will also be surveyed after the completion of neoadjuvant treatment but prior to surgery. Some patients will be invited for an interview after their surgery as part of the evaluation. A subset of patients/surgeons will also have their surgical consultation audio-recorded.

Detailed description

Primary objectives: * To test the effectiveness of the CONSYDER decision support tool on reducing decisional conflict prior to breast cancer surgery. * To evaluate the implementation of and mechanisms of use for CONSYDER. Secondary Objectives: * To determine the impact of CONSYDER on decision-making preferences, breast cancer knowledge, treatment goals and preferences, anxiety, decisional regret, and self-efficacy in communication. Exploratory Objectives: * To explore whether CONSYDER impacts surgical choice. OUTLINE: This is a multi-site cluster randomized trial using a stepped wedge design. Approximately 800 women will be recruited at 4 study sites (Weill Cornell Medicine, Yale Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute), including network affiliate sites, over an approximate 30-month period. All sites will have a 6-month "run-in" period where patients will not be sent CONSYDER. The 6-month blocks may be extended if recruitment targets are not met. Sites will be randomized to begin delivery of CONSYDER to all newly diagnosed women, age ≤44, with Stage 0-III breast cancer as part of routine clinical care; young women will have access to the website whether or not they consent to research study participation.

Arms & interventions

  • OtherCONSYDER decision aid

    Web-based breast cancer surgery decision aid

Outcome measures

Primary

  • Pre-surgical decisional conflict as measured by the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS)

    The Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) includes 5 subscales (uncertainty, informed, values clarity, support, effective decision). Each item is rated on a scale of 0 (strongly agree)-4 (strongly disagree). Scores range from 0-100 with higher scores indicating more decisional conflict.

    Time frame: pre-surgery

  • Use of CONSYDER pre-consult

    Proportion of patients eligible to use CONSYDER who logged in prior to surgical consult

    Time frame: pre-surgery

Secondary

  • Knowledge as measured by adapted Breast Cancer Surgery Decision Quality Instrument (BCS -DQI)

    Time frame: pre-surgery

  • Treatment goals and preferences as measured by adapted Breast Cancer Surgery Decision Quality Instrument (BCS-DQI)

    Time frame: pre-surgery

  • Anxiety, as measured with the 8-item Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) - Anxiety - Short Form

    Time frame: pre-surgery and 6 months post-surgery

  • Self-efficacy in communication as measured by the Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions scale (PEPPI).

    Time frame: pre-surgery

  • Decisional regret as measured by the Decision Regret Scale (DRS)

    Time frame: 6 months post-surgery

  • Receipt of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy

    Time frame: 6 months post-surgery

  • Fidelity of implementation of CONSYDER via patient portal email

    Time frame: pre-surgical consult

  • Use of CONSYDER post-consult

    Time frame: up to 6 months post-surgical consult

  • Frequency of CONSYDER use pre-consult

    Time frame: pre consult

  • Frequency of CONSYDER use post-consult

    Time frame: up to 6 months post-surgical consult

Eligibility criteria

Sex: FemaleAge: 18 Years to 44 YearsHealthy volunteers: No
Inclusion Criteria: * Female aged 18-44 * New diagnosis of Stage 0, 1, 2, or 3 unilateral breast cancer * English or Spanish speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of de novo Stage 4 breast cancer * Recurrent early-stage breast cancer * Bilateral breast cancer

Study locations (4)

Yale Cancer Center

New Haven, Connecticut, 06510

Recruiting
Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH · Contact
Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH · Principal Investigator

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215

Recruiting
Ann Partridge, MD, MPH · Contact
Ann Partridge, MD, MPH · Principal Investigator

Weill Cornell Medicine

New York, New York, 10065

Recruiting
Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH · Contact
Darima Dorzhieva · Contact
Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH · Principal Investigator

Duke Cancer Institute

Durham, North Carolina, 27710

Recruiting
Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS · Contact
Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS · Principal Investigator