Research Studies

Led by Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH and colleagues, this study opened to recruitment in March 2024 and is currently enrolling 800 patients across four sites (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Yale Cancer Center, Duke Cancer Center).

CONSYDER also aims to improve communication between young adults and their surgeons with the purpose of helping patients make appropriate surgical decisions.

Led by Kate Dibble, Ph.D., this mixed-methods study will elicit feedback on an existing MBC-focused patient impact video developed and produced by collaborator Dame Professor Lesley Fallowfield at the Sussex Health Outcomes Research and Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) department of the University of Sussex.

The goal of this study is to inform future supportive care intervention development and testing. Recruitment began in November 2025 and aims to enroll 40 patients with MBC and 40 of their caregivers/loved ones at DFCI and elsewhere. The recruitment goal was met for the patient cohort and is currently recruiting for the caregivers/loved ones cohort.

This longitudinal study is led by Dana-Farber medical oncologist Megan Tesch, MD, MPH and fellow Krystal Wright from the University of Auckland (New Zealand). Participants are asked to complete an online survey at both baseline and 3-month timepoints. Recruitment began in November 2025 and remains ongoing, with a target goal of 194 participants.

Ann Partridge, MD, MPH launched a web-based supportive care intervention to support young adults with breast cancer in survivorship. Based on portal assessment answers, participants are sent informational sheets to help and guide survivors to manage their symptoms and concerns outside of the clinic. Study participants are also granted access to an anonymous participant chatroom (YES Chat) as well as a journaling feature.

YES Survivors aimed to improve the quality of life of young breast cancer survivors by helping them to manage symptoms by providing useful information and resources. This study began in June 2021 aiming to enroll 400 young breast cancer survivors across three sites (DFCI, Columbia University, the Ohio State University) and completed follow-up in November 2025.

Data analysis remains ongoing and multiple presentations to oncology professionals have been given using these data.

Led by Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, this study offers specific information via the YES portal to newly diagnosed or MBC populations to monitor common symptoms and behavior and to provide supportive care information and peer support over the course of five years. YES Newly Diagnosed/Metastatic also offers an anonymous participant chatroom (YES Chat) and a journaling feature.

YES Newly Diagnosed/Metastatic enrolled 400 participants from September 2020 to November 2025 and is currently in follow-up. Several presentations and publications have been published using these data.

In 2006, Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, launched the first multi-institutional cohort study of young adults with breast cancer in the United States. The Young Women's Breast Cancer Study (YWBCS, known to participants as Helping Ourselves, Helping Others or HOHO) enrolled more than 1300 young adults between 2006 and 2016. While the cohort is no longer enrolling patients, researchers continue to collect survey and biospecimen data, track medical and psychosocial issues these individuals face at diagnosis, through treatment, and into survivorship. It is currently entering its 20th year of follow-up!

To date, the study has numerous subprojects that highlight issues particular to young adults, including fertility concerns, sexual functioning, body image, genetic testing, differences in the time frame of diagnosis, and surgical decisions, among many others. To date, YWBCS data has been used to publish over 160 conference presentations and published manuscripts!

Participants were randomized to a six-week session of mindfulness meditation or survivorship education classes and completed surveys and blood draws at pre- and post-class study visits. Between 2017 and 2019, the study enrolled about 250 adults diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at age 50 or younger within the past five years. It is a collaboration between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH, was the co-principal investigator of this multi-site study, sponsored in part by Dana-Farber, UMass Boston, and the Comprehensive Partnership to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) (U54) Pilot Project Grant.

 Ann Partridge, MD, MPH received a three-year, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Foundation Improving Cancer Care Grant to expand the domain of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer into a national, virtual program called the Young and Strong Program. ​

Young adults in each arm were given a booklet, which included resource links, as well as access to a study website, which included videos from experts in the field. Print and website content was intended to help patients and their doctors understand and address the concerns of young adults with breast cancer.

Ann Partridge, MD, MPH is the North American Principal Investigator for the POSITIVE trial. Enrolled participants stopped taking endocrine therapy 18-30 months into their treatment to attempt pregnancy; and after attempting, they restarted their medications to complete the planned duration of therapy.

See Young and Strong's summary of results from the POSITIVE study.

 Study results were based on an internet survey of 1,700 young breast cancer survivors from across the United States.

Other research regarding fertility and preservation strategies is being conducted in conjunction with the Brigham and Women's Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility program as well as in collaboration with both national and international colleagues.

Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH, was the principal investigator of a study, sponsored in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Rosenberg conducted in-person interviews and focus groups with young adults with breast cancer about their surgical decisions and experiences. Additionally, she interviewed oncology providers about their perspective and how they communicated with breast cancer patients about local therapy decisions. The results from this qualitative assessment informed ongoing research on a decision aid tool, CONSYDER, developed to help young adults make informed choices about their breast cancer surgery.

Participants were randomized into either the intervention or wait-list control group. The study lasted for three months and enrolled from February 2024 to December 2024 at Dana-Farber.

Findings and insight from this intervention informed research in the ATTITUDE study