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. 2018 Jun;21(2):182-189.
doi: 10.4048/jbc.2018.21.2.182. Epub 2018 Jun 20.

Assessment of Quality of Life and Safety in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Letrozole as an Early Adjuvant Treatment

Yongsik Jung  1 , Soo Jung Lee  2 , Juneyoung Lee  3 , Woo Chul Noh  4 , Seok Jin Nam  5 , Byeong-Woo Park  6 , Young Tae Bae  7 , Sung-Soo Kang  8 , Heung Kyu Park  9 , Jung-Han Yoon  10 , Je Ryong Kim  11 , Se Hun Cho  12 , Lee Su Kim  13 , Byung In Moon  14 , Sung Hoo Jung  15 , Chol Wan Lim  16 , Sung Yong Kim  17 , Ho Yong Park  18 , Jeongyoon Song  19 , Kwang Man Lee  20 , Sung Hwan Park  21 , Joon Jeong  22 , Hae Lin Park  23 , Sung Won Kim  24 , Beom Seok Kwak  25 , Sun Hee Kang  26 , Young Up Cho  6 , Geum Hee Gwak  27 , Yong Lae Park  28 , Sang Wook Kim  29 , Sehwan Han  1
Affiliations

Assessment of Quality of Life and Safety in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Letrozole as an Early Adjuvant Treatment

Yongsik Jung et al. J Breast Cancer. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: There are few reports from Asian countries about the long-term results of aromatase inhibitor adjuvant treatment for breast cancer. This observational study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of letrozole in postmenopausal Korean women with operable breast cancer.

Methods: Self-reported quality of life (QoL) scores were serially assessed for 3 years during adjuvant letrozole treatment using the Korean version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast questionnaires (version 3). Changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and serum cholesterol levels were also examined.

Results: All 897 patients received the documented informed consent form and completed a baseline questionnaire before treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 684 (76.3%) subjects, and 410 (45.7%) and 396 (44.1%) patients had stage I and II breast cancer, respectively. Each patient completed questionnaires at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months after enrollment. Of 897 patients, 749 (83.5%) completed the study. The dropout rate was 16.5%. The serial trial outcome index, the sum of the physical and functional well-being subscales, increased gradually and significantly from baseline during letrozole treatment (p<0.001). The mean serum cholesterol level increased significantly from 199 to 205 after 36 months (p=0.042). The mean BMD significantly decreased from -0.39 at baseline to -0.87 after 36 months (p<0.001).

Conclusion: QoL gradually improved during letrozole treatment. BMD and serum cholesterol level changes were similar to those in Western countries, indicating that adjuvant letrozole treatment is well tolerated in Korean women, with minimal ethnic variation.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Letrozole; Quality of life; Treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Comparison of mean trial outcome index (TOI) score changes between the chemotherapy-receiving and non-chemotherapy groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Changes in bone mineral density (BMD) compared to baseline with or without calcium medication during letrozole treatment. (A) Femur BMD. (B) Spine BMD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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