Poster Presentation 2025 National Cancer Survivorship Conference

A review of breast cancer healthcare events following initial diagnosis and treatment (#103)

Shantelle J Smith 1 2 , Rachael Moorin 1 2 3 , Jade C Newton 1 2 , Chloe Maxwell-Smith 1 2 4
  1. Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
  2. School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
  3. School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  4. Behavioural Science & Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

Background

Women living with and beyond breast cancer often navigate care pathways that extend months or years beyond their initial treatment. However, there is a significant gap in our understanding of these longitudinal care trajectories, particularly regarding survivorship care, healthcare service utilisation, and recurrent disease outcomes.

Aim

This scoping review aims to identify and map breast cancer-related healthcare events after initial treatment and organise these events into distinct care phases to conceptualise the post-initial treatment pathway.

Methods

Adhering to the JBI methodological framework, we conducted a comprehensive database search, supplemented by grey literature searches. Eligible studies included those reporting on invasive female breast cancer, post-initial treatment events, and English language publications since January 2014. We used Research Screener for initial screening, followed by full-text evaluation in Covidence. Data were analysed narratively, with healthcare events mapped to literature-derived care phases. 

Results

From 11,229 records, 158 studies were included, predominantly featuring quantitative clinical and practice pattern data. We identified 182 unique healthcare events, with subsequent systemic anticancer therapy events being the most commonly reported (52 studies). Events were categorised into distinct phases: follow-up care after treatment, extended treatments in early breast cancer follow-up, subsequent treatment in early breast cancer, subsequent treatment in metastatic breast cancer, recurrence detection and diagnosis, recurrence treatment, and end-of-life care. Notably, supportive, palliative, and end-of-life care events were underrepresented in the literature.

Conclusions

This review provides a comprehensive mapping of post-initial treatment healthcare events across the breast cancer care trajectory. The limited representation of survivorship-related events in administrative datasets highlights the need for research incorporating patient-reported experiences. Understanding these longitudinal care patterns is crucial for improving survivorship care and supporting women throughout their breast cancer These insights can inform improved data collection systems, integration of patient-reported outcomes, and implementation of patient-centred care models throughout the cancer trajectory.