Project Summary
A growing body of evidence links insulin resistance and diabetes to breast cancer. Studies show that type 2 diabetes increases the risk of breast cancer development and increases overall mortality risk in women with breast cancer. Other research has associated elevated blood glucose levels with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence and breast cancer death. According to the CDC, prediabetes is a largely undiagnosed condition affecting more than one-third of adults in the United States. Extrapolating CDC estimates to newly diagnosed and existing breast cancer survivors suggests that, each year, nearly 90,000 breast cancer patients have prediabetes at diagnosis and over 1 million survivors are living with this condition. This project seeks to understand issues faced by breast cancer survivors regarding prediabetes and diabetes.
In Tier l, we established a stakeholder advisory board composed of patients, clinicians, and researchers to foster involvement of a broader patient-centered outcomes research PCOR community to study this important topic. In Tier ll, we will engage breast cancer survivors, locally and nationally, through patient panels and an online questionnaire to help us identify themes regarding diabetes prevention and enhancement of cancer survivorship through evidence-based lifestyle interventions focused on healthy eating and exercise. We’ll expand our stakeholder group and promote research partnerships by inviting patients, clinicians, representatives of community cancer organizations, and other interested parties to participate in a town-hall meeting to examine the gathered data and to help develop comparative effectiveness research CER questions that address the specific needs of this patient population.