RWE in Breast Cancer - Carving a Path for Better Treatment Outcome

Breast Cancer remains a worldwide public health predicament and is the most prevalent tumor. In 2020, 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths were reported globally. Breast cancer occurs in women around the world at any age after puberty, the chances of occurrence increases later in life. Breast cancer has ranked number one cancer among Indian women with the age-adjusted rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality of 12.7 per 100,000 women.

In India, women are more prone to breast cancer at a younger premenopausal age. In the younger age groups, cancer tends to be more aggressive and severe. The extravagant rise in the cases can attribute to a lack of awareness and an unhealthy lifestyle.?

Indian women need to take into account all the risk factors for breast cancer and adopt effective practices for prevention. There is an immediate requirement for productive and constructive cancer literacy programs across the nation, branching into community-level engagements with organizations and local healthcare systems. Every year in October, people around the world show their support to create awareness around breast cancer.

Breast cancer awareness is immensely vital as early detection can help identify the signs and symptoms early when they are most treatable.

Warning Signs & Symptoms of Breast Cancer

The most common signs of breast cancer in women include the formation of lumps or thickening in the breasts. People showcase various signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Some of those are discussed below:?

1) New lump in the breasts or underarms.??

2) Irritation and Swelling in the breasts.??

3) Blood discharge from nipples.??

4) Pain in any area of the breasts.?

According to numerous studies, breast cancer can occur due to the culmination of multiple factors.?

Who Is at Risk???

Half of the breast cancers develop in women who have no identifiable risk factors other than gender and age. The factors associated with cancer are categorized into controlled and uncontrolled risk factors.??

Controlled Risk Factors??

1) Age??

2) Genetic Mutations??

3) Family History??

4) Exposure to Radiation??

Uncontrolled Risk Factors??

1) Weight??

2) Sedentary Lifestyle??

3) Alcohol and Smoking??

4) Taking Hormones??

Understanding Impact of Breast Cancer in Indian Women??

The management of breast cancer varies with stage and breast cancer subtype. HER2 is an established therapeutic target in a large subset of breast cancer patients. Various agents such as trastuzumab, pertuzumab and trastuzumab emtansine have been approved for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. At THB, we are focused on accelerating research and providing vital support towards creating consciousness around breast cancer. We conducted an observational and retrospective study on patterns of clinical practices in breast cancer, including the HER2+ subtype in India.??

?Here are some of the key findings regarding breast cancer from our Real-world database of 13,000 patients across India:??

>> Among breast cancer patients, 4 out of 10 were tested positive for the HER2 molecular subtype.??

>> For the patients diagnosed in the early stage, only surgical treatment (ex. mastectomy, axillary dissection) was performed in 1/3rd of the patients. In other 60% of the patients' systemic therapy was administered with or without radiotherapy along with surgery.?

>> RWD shows that <20% of the patients diagnosed in the early stage received neoadjuvant therapy as the first-line treatment before surgical procedures.?

Source: THB proprietary dataset

New innovative and assessment methods along with public health education and awareness are key factors responsible to reduce the occurrence of cancer cases. It can be achieved, by educating women and families by explaining the importance of early detection and treatment. The more women are vigilant towards the early signs of breast cancer, the earlier they can start preventive treatment.?

THB Oncoanalytix?utilizes real-world data and enables access to thousands of cancer patients treated in centers across India. It helps track the cancer patient's journey by considering their demography, socio-economical profile, diagnostic, tumor, and treatment information. It is changing the way life science companies are using real-world data to accelerate research and generate evidence. The data can be decisive in creating awareness among breast cancer patients across the globe. RWE can help assess the safety and efficacy of various therapies and will be an asset to our fight against cancer.?

?References:?

1. Breast cancer, WHO newsroom;?https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer?(Accessed on 28 October 2021)?

2. Malvia S, Bagadi SA, Dubey US, Saxena S. Epidemiology of breast cancer in Indian women. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2017 Aug;13(4):289-95.?

3. Anders CK, Johnson R, Litton J, Phillips M, Bleyer A. Breast cancer before age 40 years. In seminars in oncology 2009 Jun 1 (Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 237-249). WB Saunders.?

4. Targeted Drug Therapy for Breast Cancer;?https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/treatment/targeted-therapy-for-breast-cancer.html?(Accessed on 28 October 2021)?

5. A Gupta, K Sridhar, PK Dhillon. A review of breast cancer awareness among women in India: Cancer literate or awareness deficit. European Journal of Cancer 2015 Sep, 51(14)?