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Study: Friends and family may help breast cancer survival

Does having a large social network help breast cancer survivors have better outcomes? Research from the current study found that socially isolated breast cancer survivors had an increased risk of recurrence and breast cancer-specific mortality. (3/16/17)

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Most relevant for: People diagnosed with breast cancer.

It may also be relevant for:

people with Her2-positive cancer
people with metastatic or advanced cancer
people with a genetic mutation linked to cancer risk
people with triple negative breast cancer
people newly diagnosed with cancer

Relevance: Medium-High

Strength of Science: Medium-High

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Medical Xpress

Socially isolated breast cancer patients face higher recurrence and mortality rates
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Social connections can help women beat breast cancer
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At a glance	In-depth
Findings	Limitations
Clinical trials	Resources
Questions for your doctor

STUDY AT A GLANCE

This study is about:

Whether social networks are associated with better survival after breast cancer.

Why is this study important?

If social networks are beneficial to a woman’s prognosis after breast cancer, researchers and health care providers can use this information to develop more effective social and clinical interventions to help survivors.

Study findings:

Socially isolated breast cancer survivors had higher risk of recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality compared to survivors who had large social networks.

What does this mean for me?

This study suggests that social networks may be beneficial for breast cancer survivors. While researchers and health care providers do not understand exactly how a large social network benefits prognosis and survival, survivors should make sure to reach out to family and friends if they need support and assistance. Additionally, they can reach out to health care providers or find support groups to talk to about their concerns.

Posted 3/16/17

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Reference

Kroenke CH, Michael YL, Poole EM, et al. “Postdiagnosis Social Networks and Breast Cancer Mortality in the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project.” Cancer. Published online first on December 2016.

Disclosure

FORCE receives funding from industry sponsors, including companies that manufacture cancer drugs, tests and devices. All XRAYS articles are written independently of any sponsor and are reviewed by members of our Scientific Advisory Board prior to publication to assure scientific integrity.

This article is also relevant for:

people with Her2-positive cancer
people with metastatic or advanced cancer
people with a genetic mutation linked to cancer risk
people with triple negative breast cancer
people newly diagnosed with cancer

IN DEPTH REVIEW OF RESEARCH

Study background:

Previous work found an association between better overall survival in cancer patients who had good support networks; however, improved breast cancer-specific mortality has not been studied.

Candyce Kroenke and her colleagues from Kaiser Permanente and other institutions published research in 2016 in the journal Cancer that studied the association between breast cancer-specific mortality and social networks.

Researchers of this study wanted to know:

Does a larger social network help breast cancer survivors have a better prognosis?

Population(s) looked at in the study:

The 9,267 women in this study were part of the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project (ABCPP) and previously had invasive breast cancer ( I-IV). The ABCPP included women from multiple United States locations and Shanghai, China.

The researchers measured women’s social networks within two years after their diagnosis, using the Berkman-Syme social network index. This index includes five components:

spouse/intimate partner
number of relatives
friendship ties
religious/social ties
community ties

A higher number on the index meant that the women had greater social ties.

Depending on her score, each woman’s data was assigned to one of three groups:

Socially isolated
Moderately integrated
Socially integrated

The women were then followed for up to 21 years (the follow-up time for individuals ranged from about 1 to 21 years) to observe rates of recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality and overall mortality.

Study findings:

Socially isolated breast cancer survivors had higher risk of recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality compared to survivors who had large social networks.
Having no spouse/partner and community ties was associated with higher breast cancer-specific mortality in older white women.
Having no relatives or friendship ties was associated with higher breast cancer-specific mortality in nonwhite women.

Limitations:

This study did not include many women of lower socioeconomic status, who tend to have smaller social networks and poorer survival. So while not definitive, it is more likely that because of this limitation, the study underestimated the association between social networks and survival. Nor did this study include many African American or Hispanic women. Finally, the study authors acknowledged that having later stage disease, such as breast cancer, could be a factor in determining social network size.

Conclusions:

This study suggests that not having a large social network is associated with poorer outcomes after breast cancer, though more work needs to be done to understand why. Women who have had breast cancer should reach out to their family, friends, health care providers, and other support groups if they need support or assistance.

Posted 3/16/17

Share your thoughts on this XRAYS article by taking our brief survey.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor

What can I do to lower my risk for a recurrence?
Are in-person or online support groups available for people with a diagnosis similar to mine?
Can you refer me to specialist?
My family member or caregiver is having a difficult time coping with my diagnosis. Are there resources available to help them?
What supportive services would you recommend for me?
What are the most trustworthy sites to find information on breast cancer?

Open Clinical Trials

The following studies of the emotional effects of cancer are enrolling patients.

Multiple cancers

NCT04739696: Developing a Virtual Stress Management Intervention for Spousal/Partnered Caregivers of Solid Tumor Cancer Patients. This study looks at the ability of a stress management program for employed caregivers to improve psychological distress in spouses or partners who are caregivers for people diagnosised with a solid tumor cancer of any stage.
NCT03581357: Mobile Mindfulness Meditation Intervention for Cancer Survivors. This effort studies the impact and satisfaction of Mobile Mindfulness Meditation on anxiety, pain, fatigue, trauma and sleep in cancer survivors.
NCT03611309: Perioperative Palliative Care Surrounding Cancer Surgery for Patients & Their Family Members (PERIOP-PC). The goal of this project is to compare surgeon-palliative care team co-management, versus surgeon-alone management of patients and family members preparing for major upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery.
NCT04604158: Evaluating the Effect of a Mobile Audio Companion (Elly) to Reduce Anxiety in Cancer Patients. This study examines the feasibility of a mobile health application, Elly (Elly Health Inc.), to reduce levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, and social isolation of cancer patients.

Breast cancer

NCT05364450: Studying Types of Therapy for Coping With Fear of Recurrence Among Breast Cancer Survivors. This study tests three types of online, group therapy for breast cancer survivors with fear of breast cancer recurrence.
NCT04583891: Mobile Apps to Reduce Distress in Breast Cancer Survivors Using an Adaptive Design. This project looks at using a mobile health app to address emotional distress in women with breast cancer and tests the impact of coaching as a way to increase engagement with the app.

Prostate cancer

NCT02871752: Reducing the Effects of Active Surveillance Stress, Uncertainty and Rumination Thru Engagement in Mindfulness Education (REASSUREME). This study examines how well a couples-based, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) works on positive and negative psychological responses to active surveillance (AS) and AS adherence.
NCT03344757: Health Gatherings - For Your Health After Cancer. This study looks at the effects of a 10-week, in-person stress management group program. The program will study the effects of stress, and stress management techniques on quality of life, distress, depression and physical health in Spanish-speaking, Hispanic/Latino men diagnosed with cancer.

Updated: 12/21/2022