Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)
OPTIMA is a patient driven study. Patient and Public Involvement has been integral from the outset. The patient advocacy group Independent Cancer Patients’ Voice (ICPV) has helped shape the study design, all patient documents and this website. The ICPV is an active member of the team that manages this study, known as the Trial Management Group.
Representatives from ICPV provide valuable insight into the effect of chemotherapy on their quality of life and provide first-hand experience on the acceptance of test-directed treatment. These are some of the issues discussed by ICPV focus groups and the National Cancer Research Institute Breast Clinical Studies Symptom Management subgroup that feed into OPTIMA.