ASPIRE (Breast Pain Pathway Rapid Evaluation)

Capacity pressure on breast unit diagnostic services is recognised and to address this several units have developed specific pathways for the management of patients with isolated breast pain or mastalgia with different pathways at various stages of development, implementation and evaluation.

Consistent with a commitment to “no innovation without evaluation” ABS, with iBRA NET, are running a multicentre platform study to evaluate these pathways and to deliver them as a collaboration between the iBRA-NET and the ABS Academic and Research Committee & Clinical Practice & Standards Committee. The primary outcome will be pathway safety measured by the number of breast cancers diagnosed in the 12 months following assessment. Patient satisfaction and costs of different approaches will also be assessed.

ASPIRE ChamPionSE 2024

The ASPIRE Breast Pain Pathway National Service Evaluation is on target to reach its recruitment goal, with around 2,000 patients recruited so far. The ASPIRE ChamPionSE Programme recognises the Units, who have contributed the most to the study to date.

Congratulations to Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust for being the first recipients of this award.

Message from the ABS President

Leena Chagla, the ABS President, sent a message to ABS members in relation to the ASPIRE study in July 2023

Download the message here

ASPIRE ChamPionSE scheme

The ABS ASPIRE Pathway is looking for enthusiastic trainees (including physician associates, advanced nurse practitioners, surgeons) to become ChamPionSE in their local hospitals who have signed up to the ASPIRE project.

The ChamPionSE scheme has been tailored to the needs of trainees from all disciplines, to help run the project locally, but also to give you the skills in research and project management. There is a checklist of activities below (similar to the NIHR Associate PI scheme) that need to be completed, and a certificate of completion demonstrating leadership and management activity will be provided for your portfolio. In addition, the top 10 ChamPionSE recruiters will get a free registration for ABS Conference 2024!

Please get in touch via Alice Cui (abs.aspire.project@gmail.com) for more information, and to sign up please provide a brief (2 page) CV and 200 word statement on what you will gain from being a ChamPionSE.

ASPIRE Launch Webinar

The ASPIRE Launch Webinar was held on Wednesday 22nd March 2023.

View the webinar here

To view the programme click here

Submit a breast pain pathway for evaluation

The ABS is very conscious of the stress to capacity caused by large volumes of symptomatic breast referrals to breast units across the UK, and is looking to assess the strategies being used by units to address the significant proportion of these which are for patients with breast pain.

Members are encouraged to submit their breast pain pathways for assessment by the Clinical Practice & Standards Committee. For more information click here

The study also needs breast units where patients with breast pain are going through a normal one-stop clinic to act as as a control group. If your unit is keen to be involved in this capacity please e-mail lucydavies@absgbi.org.uk