Titles and Affiliations
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director, Adult Survivorship Program, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
Vice Chair, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Research area
Enhancing the care, support, and community of young women with breast cancer.
Impact
Rates of breast cancer continue to increase in women under age 40. Further, younger women tend to develop more aggressive breast cancer, and it is often not diagnosed until later stages. These patients therefore receive more intensive therapy and have a higher risk of cancer recurrence and death. Dr. Partridge and her team are dedicated to addressing what drives breast cancer in younger individuals, focusing on the unique challenges that accompany developing breast cancer at a younger age. Her team is focused on improving care for these women through two major studies: the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Study (YWS) and the Young, Empowered and Strong (YES) Study. Their research looks at how both medical and supportive care impact survival and quality of life for younger patients and has helped shape new clinical trials that are changing breast cancer care worldwide. They are also exploring what makes breast cancer in younger women biologically different, using large datasets and patient groups to lead this cutting-edge work.
Progress Thus Far
The digital tool YES is a web and mobile based platform that was created by Dr. Partridge and her team to better support and study younger women with breast cancer. Two major projects are now running through this platform, including a study called YWS2i, which found that younger women living with metastatic breast cancer frequently report psychosocial, health, and cancer management concerns. The other major study, YES Survivors, tests the efficacy of a 9-month digital health intervention designed to engage and support younger women with breast cancer by providing tailored information, resources, and support outside of the clinic. This study recently finished recruiting participants and is now in the follow-up phase at Dana-Farber, Ohio State University and Columbia Medical Center. The team is collecting biological samples to study changes over time, and they anticipate reporting first results at the end of 2025.
They are continuing work on the long-running YWS, which has produced many important findings over nearly 20 years and is still contributing valuable data and tissue samples to other researchers. Dr. Partridge and her team have expanded their clinical program, Young and Strong, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
What’s Next
In the next year, the team will continue enrolling and following participants in both YES studies. The YWSi2 study is expected to complete recruitment in the third quarter of 2025. The YES Survivors study will examine blood samples for signs of inflammation and how those levels may change over time or relate to treatment and patient characteristics. Results from that analysis are expected in the next six months.
The team will continue to use data from the YWS to support studies that explore topics like pregnancy and breastfeeding after cancer, and how the immune system behaves in breast cancers diagnosed at a younger age. They have also started collecting tissue from patients whose cancer has come back to better understand how and why recurrences happen. Dr. Partridge and her team hope to gain insights that will be needed to develop more personalized therapies, tailored interventions, and self-managed care options delivered directly to younger women with breast cancer.
Biography
Ann Partridge, MD, MPH is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is a clinical researcher focused on improving the care and outcomes of patients with cancer, with a focus on treatment, survivorship, and psychosocial issues facing women with breast cancer. She is the Vice Chair of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Director of the Adult Survivorship Program at DFCI and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Founder and Director of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at DFCI. She serves as co-chair of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Breast Committee, member of the National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Steering Committee and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Board of Directors and has recently begun serving as Chief Scientific Advisor for Susan G. Komen. Dr. Partridge has published numerous manuscripts, lectures both nationally and internationally on issues of cancer survivorship and young women with breast cancer and has received several grants and awards recognizing her work.
“If not for BCRF, we would not be able to support and learn from young breast cancer patients.”
