CTS members have high rates of several major cancers, particularly breast cancer, and low rates of lung and cervix cancer. Although late age at first birth can explain a portion of the observed excess risk of breast cancer in this cohort, the unique risk factor profile of CTS members may account for much of their higher risk of breast and selected other cancers. The CTS offers a rich resource for future studies of cancer risk and of women's health, in general.
Purpose
Early and late effects of cancer treatment are of increasing concern with growing survivor populations, but relevant data are sparse. We sought to determine the prevalence and hazard ratio of such effects in breast cancer cases.
Patients and Methods
Women with invasive breast cancer and women with no cancer history recruited for a cancer research cohort completed a mailed questionnaire at a median of 10 years post-diagnosis or matched reference year (for the women without cancer). Reported medical conditions including lymphedema, osteopenia, osteoporosis, or heart disease (congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease) were assessed in relation to breast cancer therapy and time since diagnosis using Cox regression. The proportion of women currently receiving treatment for these conditions was calculated.
Results
Study participants included 2535 women with breast cancer and 2428 women without cancer (response rates 66.0% and 50.4%, respectively) Women with breast cancer had an increased risk of lymphedema (Hazard ratio (HR) 8.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.3-11.6), osteopenia (HR 2.1; 95% CI 1.8-2.4), and osteoporosis (HR 1.5; 95% CI 1.2-1.9) but not heart disease, as compared to women without cancer Hazard ratios varied by treatment and time since diagnosis. Overall, 49.3% of breast cancer cases reported at least one medical condition, and at 10 or more years post-diagnosis, 37.7% were currently receiving condition-related treatment.
Conclusions
Responses from survivors a decade following cancer diagnosis demonstrate substantial treatment-related morbidity, and emphasize the need for continued medical surveillance and follow-up care into the second decade post diagnosis.
With the exception of alcohol consumption, this study provides no evidence that recent macro- or micronutrient composition of adult diet is likely to have a direct effect on breast cancer risk. Some reduction of alcohol consumption among those consuming more than one drink per day may be beneficial.
Determining an accurate method of obtaining complete morbidity data is a long-standing challenge for epidemiologists. The authors compared the accuracy and completeness of existing California hospital discharge data with self-reports of recent hospitalizations and surgeries from participants in the California Teachers Study. Self-reports were collected by questionnaire in 1997 from 91433 female teachers and administrators residing in California. Of the 13430 hospital discharge diagnoses identified for these women, cohort members reported 58%. Self-reporting was highest for neoplasms and musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases and was most accurate for scheduled admissions, more recent admissions, longer lengths of stay, and less severe disorders. Hospitalizations for mental health and infectious disease were not as well reported. Among the 26383 self-reports-including outpatient surgeries, which are not captured by the hospital discharge database-confirmation was lower, as expected, especially for disorders of the nervous system and sense organs and skin and subcutaneous tissue. Confirmation was highest for childbirth admissions. The hospital discharge database was more specific, but the self-reports were more comprehensive, since many conditions are now treated in outpatient settings. The combination of self-reports and secondary medical records provides more accurate and complete morbidity data than does use of either source alone.
Patients with a history of having either an LMP tumor or an epithelial ovarian cancer have a less than expected risk of subsequent breast cancer. Patients with LMP tumors are at lower risk than patients with a history of ovarian cancer for the development of these second malignancies.
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