New Global Survey Highlights Deep Psychological Impact of Breast Cancer Recurrence on Both Patients and Physicians

Barcelona (ots/PRNewswire) -

- For Medical and Healthcare Media Only

- FOR INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS - NOT FOR US MEDIA

- Data Highlight the Need for More Positive Conversations Through
Better Communication, Training and Use of Effective Treatments

A devastating moment for a woman undergoing treatment for early
breast cancer is to hear from her physician that, despite their
best efforts, the disease has returned and she is no longer
curable. Presented for the first time today at the European Cancer
Conference (ECCO), an international survey of over 1,000 physicians
and patients showed that physicians are also deeply affected by
these negative conversations. A significant number of physicians
stated the worst part of their job was informing a woman about
recurrence, and that distressing thoughts and feelings remained with
them after leaving the clinic or surgery. Recent studies show that
oncologists are already affected by increasing professional
pressures leading to stress, depression, burn-out and even suicidal
thoughts(2-4), which may detrimentally impact on relationships with
patients and, ultimately, on patient care. Therefore, there is a
need to help physicians to have more positive conversations.

The survey, conducted among 462 physicians(a) and 600 patients(b)
from Europe and the United States, found that, of the physicians
surveyed:(1)

- 41.8% felt that telling a woman her breast cancer has
recurred to be the worst part of their job

- 72.0% thought that telling a patient she has early breast cancer
was easier than telling her she has a recurrence of the disease

- 33.0% take worries about patients who have recurred home with
them

- 69.4% worry about whether they are giving the best treatment to
their patients.

The majority of physicians have a strong bond with their patients,
with 89% feeling a great sense of satisfaction when their patients
are confident in their treatment and believe in life beyond breast
cancer. (1) A further 62% stated that telling a patient she remains
free of distant recurrence is the best part of their job.(1) The
issues identified in this survey therefore need to be recognised and
physicians need support and help with difficult consultations.
Providing access to more efficacious treatments may lead to more
positive outcomes for women with early breast cancer and,
consequently, more positive conversations.

"What this survey shows is that, whilst the well-being of patients
is always our first priority, there is a significant need to support
the physicians themselves who regularly have to deliver bad, sad or
difficult news, for example, about a breast cancer recurrence,"
stated Professor Lesley Fallowfield, co-author of the survey.
"Recurrence is devastating for the patient so doctors must have
access to better treatments. This will in turn reduce the frequency
of negative conversations. However, we do need to equip doctors with
appropriate communication techniques to help minimise the burden on
both patient and doctor when sad, bad and difficult conversations
must take place," she concluded.

During the conference, Professor Fallowfield suggested that to
move towards more positive conversations, physicians needed to be
supported in number of key areas, including:

- Access to appropriate treatment choices supported by greater
clinical trial data and personal experience

- Provision of better and earlier training on the importance of
good communication

- Optimisation of proven communication strategies and techniques

- Stronger peer-to-peer support networks

"Informing a postmenopausal woman with hormone receptor-positive
breast cancer that her disease has returned is awful; the news is
usually unexpected. Personally, I find this 'moment of truth'
emotionally draining and it worries me to think about the impact the
difficult aspects of my job might be having on my emotional
well-being and my ability to deliver for my patients," recalled Dr
Mark Lansdown, Consultant Surgeon, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust, England. "For me, preventing recurrence in the first place is
vital in resolving this issue. The good news is that there are newer
treatments available that reduce the number of recurrences, allowing
physicians to have more positive conversations with our patients."

Physicians surveyed also want mature and convincing data to give
them the confidence they need to ensure that their patients can have
the best outcomes:

- 90% of physicians citied clinical trial data as being crucial
in building trust in treatment decisions

- 72.4% believed prescribing treatments that minimise the
incidence of recurrence allows them to have more positive
conversations.

Data from the ground-breaking ARIMIDEX(TM)(anastrazole),
Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial, which has a median
of 68 months of follow-up, demonstrated that women treated with
ARIMIDEX experience 26% fewer recurrences compared with those treated
with tamoxifen.(5) This compelling, mature data has led to ARIMIDEX
replacing tamoxifen as the Gold Standard treatment in a number of
countries for post-menopausal hormone receptor-positive early breast
cancer. As a consequence, not only are patients more likely to remain
recurrence free, but those physicians who stated that the worst part
of their job was informing women of a recurrence are likely to have
more positive conversations with their patients. Physicians would,
therefore, be relieved of some of the intense psychological and
emotional burdens that can have a negative effect on their
professional and personal lives.

"Data, such as those from the ATAC trial, show that we can improve
patient outcomes, meaning fewer women have to hear that their early
breast cancer has returned," commented Dr Lee Martin, University
Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, England. "And if we as physicians can
have more positive conversations with our patients, the burden on us
reduces, allowing us to focus on the most important point of all,
doing the very best for those women in our care."

References

(1). Data presented at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO).
AstraZeneca Satellite Symposium, Breast Cancer Treatment Strategies:
Clinical decisions and Positive Conversations, Sunday 23 September,
17.00-19.00 CET.

(2). Burman et al. Occupational stress in palliative medicine,
medical oncology and clinical oncology specialist registrars. Clin
Med 2007;7:235-42.

(3). Shanafelt T. Finding meaning, balance, and personal
satisfaction in the practice of oncology. J Support Oncol.
2005;3:157-164

(4). Whippen DA, et al. Burnout in the practice of oncology:
Results of a follow-up survey. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2004
ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings (Post-Meeting Edition). Vol 22, No
14S (July 15 Supplement), 2004: 6053.

(5). ATAC Trialists' Group. Results of the ATAC (ARIMIDEX,
Tamoxifen, Alone or in Combination) trial after completion of five
years' adjuvant treatment for breast cancer. Lancet 2005, 365
(9453):60-62.

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Notes to Editors

(a)Physicians: medical oncologists, gynaecologists and breast
cancer surgeons.

(b)Patients: postmenopausal women diagnosed with early breast
cancer in the past five years and who had undergone breast cancer
surgery.

'More Positive Conversations' Survey

The 'More Positive Conversations' survey was conducted online and
via telephone interviews by Harris Interactive on behalf of
AstraZeneca. The objectives of the survey, involving 1,062 physicians
and patients from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the
United States, were:

- To evaluate the concept of trust between patient and physician
and the extent to which it factors into treatment decisions,
compliance and intrinsic benefits such as physician job satisfaction

- To quantify the degree to which, and in what situations
physicians are apprehensive in communicating with patients with early
breast cancer and how it affects physicians' views of their work

- To measure patient and physician satisfaction with treatments
and understand the role of the relationship between the patient and
the physician in making treatment decisions

- To understand the degree to which time limitations are present
in patient consultations and how this affects the perceived quality
of the visit

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged
in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of
prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services.
It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with
healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of
gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology
and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index.

ARIMIDEX is a trademark, the property of the AstraZeneca group of
companies.

ots Originaltext: AstraZeneca
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Contact:
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