A mobile health tool designed specifically for adolescent and young adult (AYA) breast cancer survivors significantly improved overall quality of life and reduced symptoms related to vaginal and arm problems when compared with usual care, according to the results of a multicenter randomized trial presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract GS3-03).
Background and Study Details
According to study presenter Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, the current health-care system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of patients who are struggling with the aftermath of cancer treatment. “While many acute physical complaints resolve following initial treatment, the long-term physical, emotional, and psychosocial impact on a young woman’s life trajectory may worsen or only become evident in survivorship, when much less attention is paid to them from the health-care system,” she said.
The Young, Empowered & Strong (YES) platform delivers personalized guidance based on electronic patient-reported outcomes and incorporates supportive features such as a platform for expressive writing and a monitored peer-support chat room.
The study authors enrolled 360 women from June 2021 to December 2024. Participants were between the ages of 15 and 39 years and had been diagnosed with stage 0 to III breast cancer within the previous 3 years. Participants completed baseline quality-of-life assessments using the validated Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors (QLACS) questionnaire (with higher scores denoting poorer quality of life), after which they were randomly assigned to be able to access YES (n = 179) or usual care (n = 181).
Results
After 6 months, quality-of-life scores improved significantly more in the YES arm. General QLACS scores decreased by 8.7 points in the intervention arm vs 1.6 points with usual care, while cancer-specific QLACS scores fell by 7.8 points vs 3 points, respectively. Adjusted analyses confirmed statistically significant differences favoring YES in both domains.
In addition to quality-of-life gains, YES users experienced significantly greater improvement in vaginal and arm symptoms—areas frequently reported by young survivors and assessed via the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT) scale. Differences in mean change favored the YES group by –0.57 for vaginal problems and –0.39 for arm problems. Fatigue, measured by the PROMIS-Fatigue scale, also improved modestly in the intervention group, though not at a statistically significant level. No meaningful between-group differences were observed for depressive symptoms or other BCPT-measured domains, such as hot flashes, musculoskeletal pain, nausea, or cognitive concerns.
Key Takeaways
The study authors determined that the YES platform, which does not require intensive clinician involvement, offers a promising approach for extending survivorship resources beyond traditional oncology settings, and this benefit may be felt by other groups with limited access to in-person clinical settings as well. As stated by Dr. Partridge, “This type of intervention has the potential to improve the health and well-being of several other hard-to-reach populations, such as busy young adults and rural Americans who are less able to engage in person with cancer center resources and support.”
Disclosure: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health through the National Cancer Institute. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit sabcs.org.
