title: Improving quality of life after breast cancer: prevention of other diseases.
abstract: Many women with breast cancer will be diagnosed at an early stage through screening programmes. Furthermore, most women affected by breast cancer will not die from it but from other diseases, owing to recent improvements in treatment. This article assesses whether breast cancer survivors suffer more frequently from other diseases. Specifically, it examines whether they have a higher incidence of other cancers, cardiovascular events and osteoporotic fractures. Women with breast cancer and three or more co-morbid conditions have a 20-fold higher rate of mortality from causes other than breast cancer and a 4-fold higher rate of all-cause mortality when compared with patients who have none. Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of other cancers, such as stomach, colorectal and lung. Radiotherapy, trastuzumab and aromatase inhibitors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, tamoxifen does not, although it is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Aromatase inhibitors, but not tamoxifen, increase the risk of osteoporotoic fracture and bisphosphonate therapy should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Breast Disease Unit and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Université Libre de Bruxelles, CHU Saint-Pierre, Brussels, Belgium. serge.rozenberg@skynet.be
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rozenberg
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antoine
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carly
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pastijn
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liebens
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D015984:Causality; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000009:adverse effects; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D013629:Tamoxifen