OBJECTIVES: Consensus statements are being promoted to provide high-quality healthcare guidance.¹ This consensus guidance aims to establish new procedures and improve existing ones on advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) patient’s treatment journey, based on expert opinions, that ultimately improve healthcare, the treatment outcomes and enhance the patient navigation within healthcare systems.

METHODS: A multidisciplinary team (MDT) composed of patient association representatives and experts from nine different specialties, involved in the diagnosis and treatment of BC, used their knowledge and experience to address gaps within patient’s journey of ABC defined as (1) referral/diagnosis, (2) 1st line of treatment, (3) patients’ follow-up and (4) advanced lines of treatment.

RESULTS: After some brainstorming meetings, a multidisciplinary core group identified the need to gather a guidance document of the best clinical practice considering the patient’s journey of ABC. Thus, two parallel workstreams were constituted, composed of at least one element of each identified specialty/professional category. Each group focused on specific areas from the guidance according to their expertise and there were moments of broader group discussion for an integration of the multidisciplinary vision. The final revision of the guidance was in charge of two specific healthcare professionals that combined all pending topics. The final draft will be sent to local scientific societies for assessment and possible scientific endorsement.

CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a guidance on ABC patient journey in a Portuguese context is highly desirable. The benchmark consensus guidance developed by the experts will be used nationwide to harmonize the discrepancies between the healthcare centers and to improve the healthcare treatment of patients with ABC. The execution of the guidance in a fruitful way in Portugal could be scaled up to the European level.