Final Research Plan
Breast Cancer: Medication to Reduce Risk
March 21, 2024
Recommendations made by the USPSTF are independent of the U.S. government. They should not be construed as an official position of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Abbreviation: DCIS=ductal carcinoma in situ.
1. What is the effectiveness of risk-reducing medications on primary breast cancer, breast cancer mortality, all-cause mortality, and quality of life?
1a. How did the included trials identify and define participants as being at increased risk of primary breast cancer?
2. What are the harms of medications used to reduce primary breast cancer risk?
Contextual questions will not be systematically reviewed and are not shown in the Analytic Framework.
- What is the accuracy of different approaches for identifying individuals at increased risk of primary breast cancer, including clinical risk factors or prediction models?
- What are the perspectives and preferences of patients on breast cancer risk and the use of risk-reducing medications?
- What are the current practices of primary care clinicians on breast cancer risk assessment and provision of risk-reducing medications? What resources are needed to support patient-centered discussions?
To the extent possible, we plan to describe the participant characteristics of the included studies. Data on population characteristics will help us explore the degree to which the findings are broadly representative of the U.S. population eligible for the breast cancer risk-reducing medications. Participant characteristics will be described with respect to factors that can contribute to variability in intervention access and outcomes, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, health insurance status, and geographic region. Specifically, as part of our effort to address health equity, we will search for and highlight evidence that could benefit individuals who historically have experienced increased risk of breast cancer mortality. This could include noting the effectiveness of risk-reducing medications for preventing triple negative breast cancer that is more prevalent among Black women and associated with higher breast cancer mortality. Additionally, the proposed Contextual Questions will include potential differences in the performance of breast cancer risk prediction models by race and ethnicity as well as patient and clinician factors that may be important to consider in the clinical setting to address health equity considerations.
The Research Approach identifies the study characteristics and criteria that the Evidence-based Practice Center will use to search for publications and to determine whether identified studies should be included or excluded from the Evidence Review. Criteria are overarching as well as specific to each of the Key Questions.
| Category | Include | Exclude |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | The use of medications to prevent primary breast cancer | Use of medications for treatment or prevention of other outcomes (e.g., breast cancer reoccurrence, treatment of osteoporosis) |
| Populations | Adults assigned female at birth without a preexisting or current invasive breast cancer diagnosis.
Can include:
|
Individuals with preexisting diagnosis of invasive breast cancer or DCIS |
| Interventions | Medications to prevent primary breast cancer (tamoxifen, raloxifene, or aromatase inhibitors) | Medications not used for prevention of primary breast cancer or unavailable in the United States |
| Comparisons | Placebo, no treatment, or active comparator medication (tamoxifen, raloxifene, or aromatase inhibitors) | Comparisons with other types of medications (e.g., aspirin) |
| Outcomes | KQ 1 (Effectiveness): Incidence of primary invasive breast cancer (including tumor receptor status) and DCIS; breast cancer mortality; all-cause mortality; and global measures of quality of life
KQ 2 (Harms): Adverse effects, including but not limited to:
|
Noninvasive breast lesions other than DCIS |
| Setting | Countries categorized as “Very High” on the 2021 Human Development Index, as defined by the United Nations Development Programme | Countries not categorized as “Very High” on the 2021 Human Development Index |
| Study Design | KQ 1: RCTs
KQ 2: RCTs, nonrandomized studies of interventions, or experiments with concurrent comparison groups Cohort and case control studies conducted using data from cohort studies, registries, or medical record databases |
Other study designs |
| Language | English only | Non-English publications |
| Study Quality | Good- and fair-quality studies, according to design-specific criteria | Poor-quality studies, according to design-specific criteria |
Abbreviations: DCIS=ductal carcinoma in situ; KQ=key question; RCT=randomized, controlled trial.
The draft Research Plan was posted for public comment on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force website from December 28, 2023, to January 31, 2024. In response to comments, minor clarifying revisions to the Research Plan were made.