Psychosocial aspects and life project disruption in young women diagnosed with metastatic hormone-sensitive HER2-negative breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) diagnosis in young women negatively impacts on quality of life (QoL) and
daily activities, disrupting their life project and forcing them to face new psychosocial challenges. The
recently published results on the improvement of the overall survival of pre- or perimenopausal women
with hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative MBC treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors plus endocrine
therapy, while preserving, and in some items improving their QoL, will change the landscape of the
management of this patient population. Their extended survival and potential improvement in QoL will,
therefore, modify their specific needs in terms of psychosocial support.
The complexity of the care of young women with MBC is described herein, based on an extensive
literature review. Further research about the specific psychosocial requirements of these women and a
new multidisciplinary holistic approach is paramount to properly address their concerns and preferences. The communication with and support of their partners, parents and children is an important
factor affecting the QoL of these patients. Altogether, a multidisciplinary care, open communication and
personalized support is required to address the psychosocial implications of the new prognostic expectations on these patients with the incorporation of new targeted therapies.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).