Study: Follow-Up Treatments for Breast Cancer Reduce Mortality

Chemotherapy and/or radiation after surgery for breast cancer reduces mortality, has side effects that are for the most part reversible, and causes little or no increase in long-term cardiac toxicity and second cancers, according to researchers at Ohio State University.

Researchers reviewed 25 years of research into the side effects of follow-up treatment of breast cancer (chemotherapy and radiation) after surgery using current treatment regimens.

"Today a majority of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer will be breast cancer survivors," said Dr. Charles L. Shapiro, director of breast medical oncology at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital. "At the same time, we have lowered the threshold for treating these women with adjuvant therapy such that it is becoming increasingly important to understand the short-and long-term effects of the treatments."

One of the significant findings of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was that weight gain and chemotherapy-induced ovarian failure were common problems in younger women. Ovarian failure puts women into early menopause and can lead to osteopenia, osteoporosis and possibly cardiovascular disease.

Another finding was that taxanes, such as Taxol and Taxotere, are being incorporated more and more into follow-up treatment for early stage breast cancer even though there is little information on the long-term side effects of the drugs.

Researchers also found that there does not seem to be any detectable long-term increase in heart damage when women are given Adriamycin in standard doses of follow-up chemotherapy.

"It used to be that we didn't have the luxury of considering long term side effects," said Shapiro. "But now, more women are surviving and survivorship issues are of major importance."

Shapiro points out that the ideal post-surgical treatment regimen has yet to be defined, and researchers need to work on defining predictive factors in choosing the right regimen for a particular patient.

Other sources: Ohio State University, New England Journal of Medicine