Living with breast cancer research
Researchers around the world are looking at better ways to cope with the emotional, psychological and physical effects of breast cancer. They are keen to improve people’s quality of life with breast cancer.
Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for breast cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.
Some of the trials on this page have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collect and analyse the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of the type of research being carried out in breast cancer.
When looking at the trials database, click on the ‘recruiting’, ‘closed’ and ‘results’ tabs to make sure you see all the trials.
Research and clinical trials
All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:
- they work
- they work better than the treatments already available
- they are safe
Quality of life
Researchers are asking women about their health and well being during and after breast cancer treatment. They want to find out how breast cancer affects quality of life so they can improve how symptoms are managed and the support people might need.
Researchers are also developing and testing new questionnaires to ask people about their quality of life.
A large study is looking at the timing and order of breast surgery and hormone treatment. They want to see if giving hormone treatment before breast surgery helps shrink the tumour and helps prevent women having a mastectomy. This will hopefully mean women feel as though their breast has a better appearance as they need less tissue removing.
Treatment side effects
Research into side effects is important so that people:
- have as few side effects as possible
- have the information, support and treatment they need to cope with the side effects
- spot and get treatment for side effects as early as possible
All trials looking at treatment will also collect information about the side effects that people have. For example, if they feel sick, have any skin problems or pain. Many of the trial teams also ask questions about everyday life. So they can understand better how treatment impacts quality of life.
One study is looking at the information women receive about menopausal care after breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study is to find out:
- about women’s experience of menopause care after breast cancer
- whether they are receiving information about all the treatment choices
- whether they feel they are actively included in making decisions about their treatment
- how women feel about using
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) 
after having breast cancer
Sleep problems is an area being looked as it’s a common side effect of hormone treatment. About 7 out of 10 breast cancers (about 70%) are treated with hormone therapy. Doctors think people get sleep problems because they don’t take their hormone therapy properly. Doctors in one study want to use to see if this can improve people taking hormone therapy correctly. They hope this will then improve sleep problems.
Diet and exercise
There is a lot of interest in the possible benefits of dietary changes and supplements for women with breast cancer. Also, researchers are looking into how exercise helps women cope with treatment and recover after breast cancer.
A research study looked at diet, complementary therapies and lifestyle, to see if these factors affect breast cancer survival. The researchers found that women often change their diet after being diagnosed with breast cancer. They also looked at a group of chemicals found in plants, called . They found the level of phytoestrogens in the diet did not affect how well women did after their treatment (their prognosis). The researchers are still following up on the women in this study.
Other research is looking at women’s diets after treatment for breast cancer. Researchers want to know whether women follow dietary advice. They are also comparing different types of diets and exercise programmes to see if these affect weight gain or chemotherapy side effects. They want to know more about how diet and exercise affects quality of life.
Doctors are looking at exercise as part of a prehabilitation programme before breast cancer surgery. This to try and help prevent things such as:
- anxiety
- depression
- weight gain
- low quality of life
Prehabilitation means getting ready for cancer treatment in whatever time you have before it starts. They hope this will help these women develop a routine to be able to continue this after surgery, as research shows most women become inactive after cancer treatment.
Support
Coping with cancer can be difficult and researchers want to find better ways to support people diagnosed with breast cancer.
Researchers have developed a training package for . They want to see if this can help lower the fears and worry that a patient might have during their radiotherapy treatment. The therapy radiographers would use this package to offer better support and information to women with breast cancer.
Other studies are looking at:
- people who have been recently diagnosed with cancer but have not yet started treatment. They want to learn about their experience of being diagnosed with cancer and how best to support them through and after treatment
- how social networks and relationships impact the way people look after themselves after cancer treatment
Cancer Research UK supported a study looking at what support a patient needs from the time they first spot symptoms through to their diagnosis. It was part of the National Awareness and Early Detection Initiative (NAEDI). The findings of this study found that:
- the nationality and country of birth affected what women knew and thought about breast cancer
- information and advice about symptoms needs to be presented differently to different people. This would help them understand more about breast cancer and help prevent delays in diagnosis.
