Work

Real-world patient experiences in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer: a study of symptom and side effect reporting by patients and physicians

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: PURPOSE: Despite treatment advances in hormone receptor-positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (mBC), patients still experience reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study investigated concordance between patient-physician reported symptoms and side effects, and the impact of reporting on HRQoL among patients with HR+/HER2- mBC. METHODS: Data were derived from the Adelphi Real World Advanced Breast Cancer Disease Specific Programme (DSP)™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians and their patients with HR+/HER2- mBC receiving treatment, conducted in Europe and the United States between August 2022 and February 2023. Physicians reported patient characteristics, symptoms and side effects. Patients reported symptoms, side-effects and HRQoL using validated instruments. Descriptive, linear regression, and patient-physician concordance analyses were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 298 physicians provided data on 1,642 patients, of which 321 patients self-reported data. Tiredness (85.6%), general worry (75.9%), and worry about future health (75.9%) were the most common patient-reported symptoms and side effects overall. Physicians reported bone pain (30.3%) and appetite changes (13.2%) as the most frequent patient symptoms, while estimating that most patients experienced no side effects (55.1%). Concordance between patient-physician symptom reporting was generally low (kappa ≤ 0.20), with higher concordance associated with better HRQoL across multiple measures (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with HR+/HER2- mBC experience substantial disease and treatment-mediated side effects, with low patient-physician concordance associated with worse HRQoL. These results underscore the value of capturing patient-reported experiences to better characterize symptom burden and quality of life. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Source: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

DOI: 10.1007/s10549-026-08129-7