Patient preferences for treatment pathways in early-stage breast cancer: application of a discrete choice experiment.

Aim: This study assessed patient preferences for four clinical trial pathways, which include multiple sequential treatments, in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative early-stage breast cancer (eBC). It presents an innovative application for a discrete choice experiment (DCE), yielding single-preference weights for complex pathways.

Materials & methods: Patients in Germany, Italy, and Japan with stage II/III BC completed an online DCE, which included a series of choice tasks with two hypothetical treatment profiles that varied in attributes associated with four eBC treatment pathways: overall pathway (event-free survival, fixed versus flexible, duration) and treatment-specific (side effects, regimen). Bayes modeling was used to estimate preference weights for each attribute level. Preferences for different eBC pathways were calculated by summing the respective pathway and treatment weights, adjusted for the duration of the respective treatments along the pathway. Mean pathway preference weights were compared among the four pathways and countries using analyses of variance.

Results: Pathway preferences were highly sensitive to treatment toxicity and surgical response. Additionally, a flexible pathway was preferred as it can mean a shorter pathway duration.

Conclusion: Discussions with patients should be personalized per individual preferences and should cover the entire treatment pathway, not just the initial treatment step.