Lower Quality Of Life In Young Women With Breast Cancer

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 23 Jan 2012 - 10:00 PST

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A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that health-related quality of life (QOL) is lower in younger women with breast cancer. This decrease is linked to weight gain, increased psychological distress, less physical activity and early onset menopause, as well as infertility.

In the U.S., breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women under the age of 50, and the most prevalent cancer in women. Although survival rates for younger women with the disease have improved over the last 20 years, their treatments can seriously affect QOL as well as other health outcomes, despite the effectiveness of the treatments.

Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., director of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California Los Angeles, and her team examined studies published between January 1990 and July 2010 that focused on overall QOL, menopause and fertility-related concerns, behavioral outcomes related to physical activity and weight gain as well as psychosocial effects, in order to get a clearer picture of the impact cancer treatments have on the QOL on younger breast cancer survivors. Of the 740 abstracts and titles the team examined, they focused on 28 with the most relevant data.

The team discovered that:

• Mental issues were more severe in younger breast cancer survivors than physical problems, and their overall QOL was compromised
• They were more prone to suffer from depression than women in the same age group without cancer or those with the disease over the age of 50
• After treatment, premature menopause, menopause-related symptoms and infertility were common contributing factors to the level of distress in young breast cancer survivors
• Physical inactivity and weight gain were prevalent health outcomes in younger women, even though physical activity generally increased following treatment.

According to the researchers, personalized treatment for breast cancer in younger women is particularly important. "By tailoring adjuvant therapy regimens and giving cytotoxic therapy only to those who may benefit, we can mitigate some of these side effects, but the long life expectancy for these younger women also provides a window of opportunity for cancer prevention and health promotion activities."

Written by Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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