Coordinated Care in Breast Oncology: Encouraging Participation in Clinical Trials

In this episode of OncChats: Coordinated Care in Breast Oncology, Jason Ye, MD, and Daphne B. Stewart, MD, of Keck Medicine of USC, reflect on the power of clinical trial participation, multidisciplinary collaboration, and innovation to personalize care and continually improve outcomes for every patient with breast cancer.

Ye: I just would love to encourage all the patients to enroll on clinical trials so we can learn more, and in most cases, it benefits them, too, in one way or another. One of our goals, as you know, at USC, is we try to have a very broad spectrum of trials, so there is some trial that [a patient] will be eligible [for]—no matter what kind of case and stage they’re in. Another thing, for me, [when] running these clinical trials is, there are so many different subsets and factors that we have to think about in screening for eligibility. I know every [patient with cancer] is different and that every treatment [approach] is individualized, but really, [there are benefits to] being [part of] a multidisciplinary team that conducts all these clinical trials. All of our providers are really thinking of every little detail and really trying to [determine] what is best for this one particular patient, rather than just following a more standard template, if you will, of treatment paradigm. [With] that, I feel that I have become a better clinician and more knowledgeable in talking to medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and all my colleagues. I feel that I [continually] become a better doctor just by learning from everyone.

Stewart: And at a cancer center. We’re so lucky to be engaged in this cancer center, but really the role of a cancer center is to lead to treatment intervention and innovation—making things better. Not only do we have to learn a lot, but the patients also have to learn a lot, as well. I think that when they learn and realize that we make so many changes year by year through participation in clinical trials, it can really motivate them to participate in innovating for the future. [It all] just makes such an impact as the years go on, and the goal for breast cancer treatment is just to continue to cure more and more patients.

Ye: Absolutely, and I think we’re doing a great job at it, and it’s a very exciting field to be in.

Stewart: We’re so lucky to get to work together, Jason. I'm so grateful for our interactions, because we just align. We’re on board about this and [we have the same] passion for that innovation and [finding] the best treatments that we can give to our patients.

Ye: Thank you, and I feel the same, and to all of our colleagues, too. It's a great place to be.