This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Arndt, V. Articles by Brenner, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Arndt, V. Articles by Brenner, H.

Persistence of Restrictions in Quality of Life From the First to the Third Year After Diagnosis in Women With Breast Cancer

From the Department of Epidemiology, German Centre for Research on Ageing, Heidelberg; Department of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Ulm; and Saarland Cancer Registry, Saarbrücken, Germany

Address reprint requests to Volker Arndt, MD, MPH, German Centre for Research on Ageing (DZFA), Department of Epidemiology, Bergheimer Strasse 20, D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany; e-mail: arndt{at}dzfa.uni-heidelberg.de

PURPOSE: To assess whether detriments in quality of life (QOL) among women with breast cancer persist over years.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: QOL was assessed in a population-based cohort of 314 women with breast cancer from Saarland (Germany) 1 and 3 years after diagnosis and compared internally and with reference data from the general population.

RESULTS: Three years after diagnosis, deficits in QOL were still apparent for role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning and for the symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, dyspnea, and financial difficulties. Differences between breast cancer patients and women from the general population were predominantly found in younger ages. Compared with the QOL scores measured 1 year after diagnosis, only minor functional changes were observed, but recurrence of breast cancer during the follow-up interval had a deleterious effect on QOL.

CONCLUSION: Deficits in role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning persist over years in women with breast cancer and predominantly affect younger patients.

Supported by two grants from the German Cancer Foundation (Deutsche Krebshilfe), project No. 70-1816 and 70-2413.

Presented in part at the 26th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Cancer Registries, Beijing, China, September 14-16, 2004.

Authors’ disclosures of potential conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. A. Parker, A. Youssef, S. Walker, K. Basen-Engquist, L. Cohen, E. R. Gritz, Q. X. Wei, and G. L. Robb Short-Term and Long-Term Psychosocial Adjustment and Quality of Life in Women Undergoing Different Surgical Procedures for Breast Cancer Ann. Surg. Oncol., November 1, 2007; 14(11): 3078 - 3089. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. Clough-Gorr, P. A. Ganz, and R. A. Silliman Older Breast Cancer Survivors: Factors Associated With Change in Emotional Well-Being J. Clin. Oncol., April 10, 2007; 25(11): 1334 - 1340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]