Symptom check-ins to help people stay on hormone therapy for breast cancer
Symptom Monitoring using Patient-Reported Outcomes to Optimize Medication Use (SyMPTOM)
This project uses regular symptom reports plus pharmacy support to help women on endocrine pills for hormone-receptor–positive breast cancer keep taking their medicine every day.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical College of Wisconsin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Milwaukee, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11162379 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are taking endocrine therapy and are having pain, menopausal symptoms, or other side effects that make it hard to take your pills, this program will ask you to report symptoms regularly. People who are already missing doses will be invited into a randomized program where clinical pharmacy teams reach out between doctor visits to help manage symptoms and other barriers. The team will use your patient-reported symptom information to tailor advice, medication changes, or referrals so you can continue daily endocrine therapy. The main goal is to improve medication adherence by focusing on symptoms that commonly make patients stop their pills.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Women with hormone-receptor–positive breast cancer who are prescribed endocrine therapy and who are missing doses or struggling with side effects are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who are not taking endocrine therapy, who do not have symptoms from treatment, or whose barriers are solely financial or logistical (not symptom-related) may not benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help more women complete their recommended endocrine therapy, lowering the chance of cancer recurrence and improving survival.
How similar studies have performed: Related symptom-monitoring programs have improved outcomes in chemotherapy settings and outreach to high-risk patients has improved results in chronic disease care, so this builds on promising prior work.
Where this research is happening
Milwaukee, United States
- Medical College of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Flynn, Kathryn E — Medical College of Wisconsin
- Study coordinator: Flynn, Kathryn E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.