The researchers are doing this study to compare two different types of group therapy and find out whether they are effective approaches for helping breast cancer survivors manage joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors (AI). This type of joint pain is called AI-associated arthralgia, or AIA, and it is common in people taking AIs. AIA and its associated symptoms can make some people decide to stop taking their medication. The study will look at the effects of two different types of group therapy on participants' cancer-related symptoms (such as pain, fatigue, and anxiety), their ability to continue taking AIs on a regular schedule, and their quality of life. We will measure participants' quality of life by having them fill out questionnaires.
Both groups will have 2-hour group therapy sessions once a week, over the course of 8 weeks. During the sessions, you will be in a group of 6-10 participants, who may be a mixture of patients from both MSK and University of California San Diego (UCSD).
Age ≥18 years
English-proficient women with a history of stage I, II, or III breast cancer
Free of oncologic disease by clinical examination and history;
Receiving third-generation AI therapy (anastrozole, letrozole, or exemestane) for at least 28 days prior to consent with plan to continue for at least another 12 months;
Metastatic breast cancer (stage IV);
Completed chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation therapy less than 4 weeks prior to enrollment;
Pain attributed to inflammatory arthritis (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout);
Surgery or joint injection involving the affected joints within the last month or planned within the next six months;
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Lead sponsor
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Collaborator