Abstract P6-09-05: Using Mixed Methods to Examine Clinician and Patient Use of Terminology to Describe Trastuzumab Biosimilars

Abstract Although the uptake of trastuzumab biosimilars to treat HER2-positive breast cancer is growing, knowledge gaps remain for both, patients and clinicians. In a mixed-methods study, inconsistencies in terminology used to describe trastuzumab biosimilars. We analyzed open-ended questions from surveys (n = 143 breast cancer patients, n = 33 medical oncologists) and interviews (n = 8 patients, n = 4 oncologist, nurse, pharmacists) indentifying terminology as an a priori (top-down) category for qualitative thematic analysis. We specifically looked for examples of inconsistent or incorrect use of terminology in the interviews. Findings suggest that 1) terminology used to refer to trastuzumab biosimilars is variable across patients and some is not representative of the formal definition (e.g. generic, generic-like, interchangeable, Herceptin, generic Herceptin (as per how their oncologist refers to biosimilars) and 2) clinicians discussed the challenges of talking about biosimilars in a manner that is both understandable to patients and accurate. Specifically, one pharmacist highlighted concerns around this complexity and suggested that it should be part of clinician education to use the correct terminology, rather than using the term generic. A medical oncologist said that “Explaining biosimilars to a patient can be challenging” as part of their survey response. Lack of consistent terminology for trastuzumab biosimilars is a potential barrier to effective patient-clinician communication on this topic and may perpetuate lack of comprehension on the part of patients. Further, the intentional use (to make information more digestible to patients) of incorrect terminology by clinicians has the potential to negatively impact the patient-clinician relationship in cases where patients identify conflicting information on their own. The adoption of terminology that is consistent across clinicians and patient-facing resources on the introduction and description of trastuzumab biosimilars, may serve to facilitate common grounding among all roles. Citation Format: Elizabeth Papautsky, Devika Salunke, Hannah Montague, Martha Carlson, Sheila Johnson, Deanna Attai, Maryam Lustberg. Using Mixed Methods to Examine Clinician and Patient Use of Terminology to Describe Trastuzumab Biosimilars [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-09-05.