Quality of life in pre- and postmenopausal patients with early breast cancer: a comprehensive analysis from the prospective MaLife project

Abstract

Purpose Quality of life (QoL) plays an important role in recovery—especially after an incisive diagnosis such as breast cancer. Here, we present a comprehensive assessment of QoL for pre- and postmenopausal patients, starting from initial systemic treatment of early breast cancer until 3 years later, in patients from a so-called “real-world” setting. Methods 251 premenopausal and 478 postmenopausal patients with early breast cancer have been recruited into the longitudinal MaLife project within the prospective, multicentre, German Tumour Registry Breast Cancer between 2011 and 2015. The questionnaires FACT-G, FACT-Taxane, FACT-ES, EORTC QLQ-BR23, BFI and HADS were filled in at start of treatment (T0), 6, 12, 24 and 36 months later. The proportion of patients with clinically meaningful changes at 36 months was determined. Results This first interim analysis shows that the FACT-G global QoL improved over time regardless of the menopausal status. However, clinically meaningful decrease of social/family well-being (48–51%), arm symptoms (44–49%) and symptoms of neurotoxicity (55–56%) was frequently reported 3 years after start of treatment. Many premenopausal patients also reported a clinically meaningful worsening of endocrine symptoms (64%), emotional well-being (36%) and fatigue intensity (37%). Additionally, 3 years after start of treatment, 15% of the patients were classified as doubtful cases and 18% as definite cases of anxiety. Conclusions Despite improvements in global QoL, breast cancer survivors report worsened ailments 3 years after start of therapy. Follow-up care should distinguish between premenopausal patients needing special attention for emotional/menopausal issues, and postmenopausal patients needing particular care regarding physical concerns. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10549-019-05197-whttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-019-05197-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The prognosis of early-stage breast cancer in extremely young female patients

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Psychosocial and family‐centered support among breast cancer patients with dependent children

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Chest Wall Resection and Reconstruction for Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer : An Experience Over a 5-Year Period

“…This is why they are not the rst choice for repairing chest wall defects. Although the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous ap may affect the ability of arm to lift, and the rectus abdominis myocutaneous ap may cause a weakness of the abdominal wall, they are still recommended [1,2,10,11]. In addition, they not only provide enough volume to cover a large soft tissue defect, but also are simple to operate and can achieve good outcome.…”

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