Quality of life and function in younger and older women treated for non-metastatic breast cancer: Three or more years post primary treatment.

INTRODUCTION

Advances in breast cancer treatments have reduced acute toxicities, but there can be lingering side effects that impact quality of life (QoL) and function years after treatment completion. Understanding these long-term sequelae in younger as compared older survivors under a variety of treatment scenarios may facilitate early symptom-moderating interventions.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This is a single-arm observational study of women who are three or more years post primary treatment for early breast cancer (stage I-III). All study participants were recurrence-free and without active malignancies at the time of study recruitment when they completed a variety of patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys. PROMIS-Global (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) Physical Function and PROMIS-Global Mental Health were the primary outcome variables.

RESULTS

The cohort included 122 women under age 65 and 125 women age 65 or older at the time of follow-up. Younger survivors were more likely to have stage II-III disease (p = .05), undergo mastectomy (p < .0001), and receive chemotherapy (p = .0009). Older survivors were more likely to receive radiation (p = .004) and endocrine therapy (p = .02). At follow-up, older survivors reported better mental health (p = .003), less anxiety (p = .007), less stress (p = .002), fewer endocrine symptoms (p ≤0.0001), and higher social/family well-being (p = .03). Older survivors also reported more severe neurotoxicity (p = .002) and worse aging-associated arthralgia (p = .05) compared to the younger women.

DISCUSSION: Long-term QoL and function outcomes differ by age for early breast cancer survivors. The findings of this study highlight the need for age-specific monitoring and supportive care strategies to promote long-term quality of life and function in breast cancer survivors of all ages.