abstract
- Progress in the treatment landscape for advanced breast cancer (ABC) has significantly extended the survival of people with the disease. However, longevity alone is insufficient; maintaining and enhancing quality of life (QoL) is vital to ensure that people with ABC experience not only longer lives but fulfilling ones. Literature consistently highlights the unmet psychosocial needs of people with ABC, and its negative impact on QoL. Furthermore, many awareness and support programs disproportionately focus on early breast cancer, resulting in substantial gaps in information, resources, and medical and psychological support for people with ABC, which in turn can exacerbate feelings of isolation and stigma. This manuscript explores the impact of ABC on QoL and draws on research conducted for the development of the ABC Global Alliance's Global Decade Report 2.0. The main findings are: a) QoL improvements over the last decade vary between ABC subtypes, with triple negative ABC patients having the lowest QoL; b) The impact of ABC on QoL remains unequal between populations; c) Low-grade side effects of ABC treatment have a profound impact on QoL; d) ABC has a substantial impact on caregiver QoL; e) Many QoL assessment tools currently fail to capture the specific needs of people with ABC. The findings from the ABC Global Alliance's Global Decade Report 2.0 have informed the development of a new ABC Global Charter. The ABC Global Charter 2.0 defines ten new achievable and measurable goals for the decade 2025¿2035, aiming at improving the lives of people living with ABC worldwide. © 2025 The Authors