title: Resuming work after cancer: a prospective study of occupational register data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long-term employment rates have been studied in cancer survivors, but little is known about the return to work of cancer patients. This study investigated return to work (RTW) within 2 years after the diagnosis of different types of cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study investigated the associations of demographics (age, gender, socioeconomic status, and residential region) and occupational factors (occupation, duration of employment, and company size) of employees absent from work due to cancer with the time to partial RTW, defined as working at least 50% of the earnings before sickness absence. Likewise, the associations of demographics and occupational factors with full RTW at equal earnings as before sickness absence were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cohort included 5,234 employees who had been absent from work due to cancer between January 2004 and December 2006. The time to partial RTW was shortest among employees with skin cancer (median 55 days) and longest among employees with lung cancer (median 377 days). There were no significant associations between RTW and demographics. With regard to the occupational factors, employees in high occupational classes started working earlier than those in low occupational classes, but the time to full RTW did not differ significantly across occupational classes. Employees working in large companies returned to work earlier than those working in small companies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RTW after different types of cancer depended on occupational factors rather than demographics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. corne.roelen@arboned.nl
authors.forename: C A M
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Roelen
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Koopmans
authors.forename: A J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Schellart
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van der Beek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003710:Demography; D004651:Employment / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D009790:Occupations / Q000145:classification; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D018582:Sick Leave; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014937:Work