The Impact of Social Networks on Breast Cancer Outcomes: Insights from Research

Something as simple as having your mates round regularly can influence how well you recover from breast cancer.

One study has, as you might, expect a splendidly’ scientific nerdy' name-After Breast Cancer Pooling Project.  It was conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California, USA. Of course it was. The study examined data from 9,267 women who participated in the . The researchers focused on the impact of social networks on breast cancer recurrence and mortality.

Key Findings

Social Isolation Increases Risk: Patients who were socially isolated—meaning they had smaller social networks—experienced a 40% higher risk of cancer recurrence and a 60% higher risk of death from breast cancer compared to socially integrated patients.

But it’s not as simple as that- Is it ever?  The benefits of social ties varied across different demographic groups:

Having a spouse was associated with lower breast cancer-specific mortality, especially in older Caucasian women.

Ties to Relatives and Friends: For women who were not of Caucasian descent, strong ties to relatives and friends predicted better outcomes.

Complexity and Considerations

Not All Social Ties Are Equal: While larger social networks generally predict better overall mortality, breast cancer-specific outcomes are more nuanced. Some social ties may be more beneficial than others.

Stage-Specific Effects: Associations between social networks and survival were stronger in patients with stage I and stage II cancer.

The lesson for clinicians is that they should consider social isolation when assessing breast cancer patients. 

For someone like me it seems obvious that helping reduce isolation make people happy. Its easier to face treatment if you have someone by your side. 

Understanding the mechanisms behind social network effects could lead to targeted interventions. This can only improve care.

Kroenke, C. H., Michael, Y. L., Poole, E. M., et al. (2016). Postdiagnosis social networks and breast cancer mortality in the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30440 (Epub ahead of print)