Prevalence of breast cancer treatment sequelae over 6 years of follow‐up

BACKGROUND: There is a need to better describe and understand the prevalence of breast cancer treatment‐related adverse effects amenable to physical therapy and rehabilitative exercise. Prior studies have been limited to single issues and lacked long‐term follow‐up. The Pulling Through Study provides data on prevalence of adverse effects in breast cancer survivors followed over 6 years. METHODS: A population‐based sample of Australian women (n = 287) diagnosed with invasive, unilateral breast cancer was followed for a median of 6.6 years and prospectively assessed for treatment‐related complications at 6, 12, and 18 months and 6 years after diagnosis. Assessments included postsurgical complications, skin or tissue reaction to radiation therapy, upper‐body symptoms, lymphedema, 10% weight gain, fatigue, and upper‐quadrant function. The proportion of women with positive indication for each complication and 1 or more complication was estimated using all available data at each time point. Women were only considered to have a specific complication if they reported the highest 2 levels of the Likert scale for self‐reported issues. RESULTS: At 6 years after diagnosis, more than 60% of women experienced 1 or more side effects amenable to rehabilitative intervention. The proportion of women experiencing 3 or more side effects decreased throughout follow‐up, whereas the proportion experiencing no side effects remained stable around 40% from 12 months to 6 years. Weight gain was the only complication to increase in prevalence over time. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the development of a multidisciplinary prospective surveillance approach for the purposes of managing and treating adverse effects in breast cancer survivors. Cancer 2012;118(8 suppl):.