Final Workshop Online: Advancing Breast Cancer Care Through Real-World Data

On September 16th, 2025, the REBECCA project held its final online workshop, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders — including patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policy experts — all united by a common goal: to harness Real-World Data (RWD) to improve breast cancer monitoring, post-treatment care, and patient quality of life through digital innovation.

The workshop centred around dynamic discussions that explored the REBECCA 360° system, its patient-centred approach, and its potential to transform clinical practice.

Facilitated by Alexis Strader, Director of Policy and Research at the European Health Management Association, the session provided an overview of the project’s objectives and innovations. Participants discussed the multidimensional data collected by the REBECCA system — including clinical records, wearable devices, mobile apps, online behaviours, and environmental data — and its use for both patient management and clinical research.

Key topics included:

  • Continuous monitoring of patients after cancer treatment, moving beyond traditional six-month check-ups.
  • Integration of patient-reported outcomes through self-reported photos, questionnaires, and companion app inputs from caregivers.
  • Use of digital biomarkers to estimate functioning scores and support personalised care decisions.
  • Feedback mechanisms and early warning flags to provide actionable insights for clinicians.
  • Insights from experts highlighting the importance of environmental and lifestyle data to inform comprehensive, multidisciplinary care pathways.

Another focus of the workshop was the implementation of the REBECCA system within clinical workflows and regional health systems. Discussions emphasised:

  • The importance of interoperability standards and open architectures to ensure seamless integration with existing hospital IT systems.
  • The need to harmonise clinical workflows across regions to facilitate adoption, considering the digital maturity of different ecosystems and national regulations.
  • Building trust among patients and healthcare professionals, ensuring ethical data use and privacy compliance.
  • Strategies to enable scalability while maintaining adaptability to local healthcare contexts and practices.

Participants shared experiences from related projects, highlighting the value of participatory design, human-centred approaches, and the engagement of both patients and caregivers in system development. Experts also reflected on how REBECCA can inform preventive healthcare and predictive modelling, shifting focus from reactive treatments to proactive, personalised care.

With this workshop, the REBECCA project marks its official conclusion, highlighting its impactful journey and future potential. The workshop concluded with a shared recognition of REBECCA’s potential to reshape breast cancer survivorship care. The project has successfully demonstrated that RWD can be collected safely, used meaningfully for research, and translated into actionable clinical insights. By engaging multiple stakeholders and leveraging digital innovation, REBECCA lays the foundation for sustainable, patient-centred healthcare solutions that can be adapted across Europe.

🎥 Watch the full workshop here: https://youtu.be/l2erFWFFl7Y