Prospective cohort study of physical health decline after chemotherapy or endocrine therapy in breast cancer survivors

Women with a history of breast cancer experience greater physical health decline compared with age-matched women without cancer. However, whether this decline differs in patients who received chemotherapy versus endocrine therapy is not well understood. A prospective cohort study of 15,392 women found that breast cancer survivors receiving chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, or both had significant decline in physical health compared with age-matched controls during the first 2 years after the diagnosis. After 2 year, physical health decline was only observed in breast cancer survivors who received chemotherapy. The authors conclude that breast cancer survivors receiving chemotherapy had long-lasting physical health declines, unlike those who received endocrine therapy without chemotherapy.