title: Early and late long-term effects of adjuvant chemotherapy.
abstract: Adjuvant chemotherapy continues to play an important role in breast cancer management. Exposure to chemotherapy can lead to a variety of early and late long-term toxicities, including ovarian failure (with resultant infertility and sexual dysfunction), bone loss, weight gain, neurotoxicity, neurocognitive changes, cardiac toxicity and secondary malignancy. Although chemotherapy effects may vary in medical severity, all effects have the potential to lead to a decrease in quality of life and a decrement on overall health status. Improved understanding of the etiology and management of chemotherapy-related toxicity may allow optimization of patient selection for treatment and ameliorate the concerns of patients who are considering embarking on a chemotherapy program. This article presents an overview of relevant early and late long-term toxicities, with a focus on recent advances and clinical management.
authors.affiliation: From the Breast Oncology Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Erica L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D066126:Cardiotoxicity / Q000209:etiology*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000139:chemically induced*; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology; D016649:Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / Q000139:chemically induced; D011788:Quality of Life; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000139:chemically induced*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents