Research on therapeutic mobility is abundant but the field of cancer has not yet been investigated thoroughly. This scoping review aims to examine the existing evidence on global therapeutic mobility and cancer, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

We conducted a scoping review and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses methodological guidelines. We developed a comprehensive search strategy and discussed it with the research team. We searched for peer-reviewed papers on Medline, Embase, ERIC and American Psychological Association via the Dialogue interface and Google Scholar and CAIRN bibliographic database for peer-reviewed articles. We also included grey literature, such as unpublished work and relevant reports from Érudit. We considered studies that employed quantitative or qualitative methods.

Among the 1615 references initially selected, 767 duplicates were excluded. Then, 849 studies were screened on title and abstract and 800 were excluded as they did not meet inclusion criteria. 49 studies were fully screened and 21 were excluded as they did not meet inclusion criteria based on full-text assessment. Ultimately, 28 references were included in the data synthesis. This scoping review has shown that publications on therapeutic mobilities have multiplied in recent years, with a turning point in 2019. A range of academic disciplines and research methodologies are currently employed to describe them. A significant proportion of fieldwork is concentrated in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Despite the heterogeneity of the approaches and fields, there are certain common features that emerge: first, the decision to migrate for healthcare is primarily made by the patient themselves and is perceived by them as being non-choice; second, the family plays a central role at all stages of the migration; and third, the migration has a catastrophic impact in terms of social and financial burden.

In conclusion, this scoping review highlights the underexplored relationship between global therapeutic mobility and cancer, emphasising the need for increased research efforts to understand the global dynamics of cancer care mobility.

The effects of bariatric surgery have largely been studied from a medical viewpoint, seeking to measure changes in anthropometric, physiological or quality-of-life factors after the operation. Few studies, however, have focused on the dynamics of lifestyle changes. Yet we know that changing lifestyle habits—which are often part of the established social configurations at the origin of morbid obesity—is essential for a sustainable recovery from obesity. We also know that the major bodily transformations that occur in the six to twelve months following surgery produce a high degree of biographical uncertainty and affect social interactions. From a sociological perspective, the authors propose to study the processes of disruption and re-establishment of lifestyle habits in the first 24 months following bariatric surgery.

The ChiBarAPS study relies on a mixed-method longitudinal survey, comprising three components: qualitative, quantitative, literature and data review. It aims to document three main dimensions, which must be articulated to understand the dynamics of change: (1) the work undertaken by patients on themselves in order to identify and measure the evolutionary effects of surgery, as well as to adapt to them; (2) the experience of using pre- and post-surgery information and support systems, and evaluating their effects on the agency of the people who have undergone surgery; (3) the evolution of social participation and lifestyle habits. The qualitative component concerns a cohort of 30 patients, interviewed in depth (2 hours) on these three dimensions, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months after the operation. The quantitative part uses questionnaires applied to a second group of 200 patients, following the same timeline.

This study complies with reference methodology MR004 of the French National Data Protection Authority and was registered by the Data Protection Officer of the University of Montpellier on the activity registry of the institution (24 April 2024). Ethics approval has been obtained from the University of Montpellier ethics research board (n°UM2024-037). Informed consent will be obtained from all participants before data collection. The project has received funding from the French National Research Agency (n°ANR-23-CE41-0020-01) from February 2024 to the end of January 2028. The first results of the research will be disseminated from 2026 onwards to researchers, health professionals and patient support organisations. The results of the study will then be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, both national and international.

Breast cancer is a global public health challenge. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Several inequalities remain among women facing this disease, depending on their country of birth and their sociodemographic characteristics. The SENOVIE study (Therapeutic mobility and breast cancer) aims to understand the life trajectories of women born in France and in sub-Saharan Africa treated for breast cancer in four hospitals in the greater Paris area.

The SENOVIE study is a mixed methods study, combining a quantitative and a qualitative approach. A quantitative retrospective life-event survey is conducted in four hospital centres in the greater Paris area, France, to (1) understand how breast cancer (diagnosis, treatment and possibly reconstruction) impacts the life trajectories of women in many spheres (migration, family life, professional life, financial situation, etc); (2) study the access to healthcare by women living with breast cancer and their determinants; and (3) examine how gender relations may shape breast cancer experience. Women born in France and women born in sub-Saharan Africa are recruited: 1000 women, including 500 per group. In the standardised, face-to-face questionnaire, each dimension of interest is collected year by year from birth until the time of the survey. Clinical and laboratory information is documented with a short medical questionnaire filled out by the medical teams. The qualitative survey is conducted specifically with women born in sub-Saharan Africa who came to France for treatment to better understand their trajectories and the specific obstacles they faced. To analyse the quantitative data collected, descriptive analyses will be used to visualise trajectories (sequence analysis), along with longitudinal analysis methods (survival models and duration models).

The study is conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The French Data Protection Authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, declaration number 2231238) and the Committee for Persons’ Protection East I (Comité de Protection des Personnes Est I, national number 2023-A01311-44) approved it. We will disseminate the findings through scientific publications, policy briefs, conferences and workshops.

The SENOVIE France study is registered on Clinicaltrial.gov (NCT06503393; registration date: 7 September 2024; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06503393).