Adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitors in Early Breast Cancer May Not Increase the Risk of Falls.
BACKGROUND
Falling increases the risk for fracture. The impact of adjuvant aromatase inhibitors (AI) on the risk of falls is undefined.


METHODS
A retrospective case control study was performed examining women with early stage breast cancer on adjuvant AI and matched controls without cancer. Fall and fracture data were abstracted from the medical record.


RESULTS
Matched pairs of 332 women were identified (total N = 664). There was no statistically significant difference in the odds of a fall between cases and controls, p = 0.86. Similarly, the odds of a fracture between cases and controls was not significantly different, p = 1.0. There were 35 pairs in which the case fractured but the control did not and equal number of pairs where the control fractured but the case did not. For pairs in which control fractured but case did not, the median age at fracture was significant higher than that for pairs in which case fractured but the control did not (71vs.63 years p = 0.0003).


CONCLUSIONS
This study did not identify a difference in the incidence of falls or fractures in women on adjuvant AI compared to their age matched controls without breast cancer. Prospective studies of falls and fracture in women on adjuvant AI therapy compared to age match controls would aid in the identification of fracture risk.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Health Systems, USA.
Palak
P
Choksi
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Health Systems, USA.
Margaret E
ME
Williams
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, USA.
Kelley M
KM
Kidwel
University of Michigan Medical School, USA.
Julia
J
Stella
University of Connecticut School of Medicine, USA.
Mary
M
Soyster
Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, USA.
David
D
Hanauer
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Health Systems, USA.
Catherine
C
Van Poznak
Aromatase inhibitors; Early stage breast cancer; Falls; Fractures; Postmenopausal women
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