Breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of a decision aid on mammography screening uptake: study protocol

Introduction Breast cancer (BC) is the primary cancer among women. The World Health Organization recommends a bilateral screening mammogram every 2 years for women aged 50 to 74 years. However, it has been shown that there is an absence of information about the benefits and risks of screening. Shared medical decision-making is important to ensure patients are involved in the decision process. Decision aids can facilitative this decision-making process. This article presents a protocol to evaluate the effect of a decision aid on participation rates in the French organized BC screening program. Methods and analysis Design and setting. The design is a 2 arm randomized controlled study, performed in the Pays de la Loire region (French West Coast). Randomization will be based on general medicine practices (Primary Care). Participants Women aged between 50 and 74 years, eligible for BC screening. In this region, there are 75000 women, and 2800 general practitioners eligible for recruitment. Intervention In the « Decision aid for organized cancer screening » arm, the intervention will distribute invitation letters to eligible women combined with the provision of decision aid to these women and their general practitioners and an incentive to implement shared medical decision-making. In the « Standard organized cancer screening » arm, only the screening invitation will be sent to eligible women. Primary endpoint BC screening participation rates will be assessed after an 18-month follow-up period. Statistical analysis In this non-inferiority trial, the percentage of women who are up-to-date with their screening at 18 months after the intervention will be compared across arms using a generalized mixed linear model. Discussion The research team expect to demonstrate that providing a better explanation of the benefits and risks of BC screening is not at odds with screening participation. The study results should help policy makers thinking about implementing shared medical decision-making within the framework of organized BC screening programs in the future. Ethics and dissemination On 6 December 2021, the protocol received a favorable opinion from the French Committee for the Protection of Persons (2021-A01583-38). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT05607849. (Version 1, November 7, 2022; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05607849 ). The study findings will be used for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations in scientific meetings