The impact of non- and anthracycline-based chemotherapy on fatigue in breast cancer survivors: results from WF-97415

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 32; no. 8; p. 528
• Main Authors: Avis, Nancy E., Levine, Beverly J., Klepin, Heidi D., Mihalko, Shannon L., Brubaker, Peter H., Moore, Tonya, Ladd, Amy C., Dent, Susan F., Hackney, Mary Helen, Ky, Bonnie, Ntim, William O., Wagner, Lynne I., Weaver, Kathryn E., Hundley, W. Gregory
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2024; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Anthracyclines; Anthracyclines - adverse effects; Anthracyclines - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Aromatase Inhibitors - adverse effects; Aromatase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - complications; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Cancer Survivors; Cancer therapies; Chemotherapy; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Comparative analysis; Drug dosages; Fatigue; Fatigue - etiology; Female; Hematology; Humans; Internal medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Pain Medicine; Palliative care; Prospective Studies; Radiation; Rehabilitation Medicine; Side effects; Womens health; Fatigue; Chemotherapy; Longitudinal; Anthracycline; Breast neoplasm
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-024-08717-7

Purpose To examine the differential effect of non- and anthracycline-based chemotherapy on fatigue over 12 months post-diagnosis among breast cancer survivors. Methods This study is based on a prospective Wake Forest NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) multicenter cohort study (WF-97415) of women with stage I to III breast cancer and non-cancer controls. Analyses compared those: 1) receiving, or 2) not receiving anthracycline chemotherapy, 3) receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) without chemotherapy, with 4) a comparator group without a history of cancer. In-person clinic assessments were conducted at: baseline (prior to chemotherapy or start of AI therapy), and 3 and 12 months after baseline. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scale was the primary outcome. Estimated least squares means by group using mixed models with a random subject effect, fixed effects of time and group, and the interaction between time and group was used to compare groups across time, controlling for age, comorbidities, and treatment variables. Results Among 284 women (mean age = 53.4 years, sd 11.9 years), there was a significant (p < 0.0001) group by time interaction, with a sharp increase in fatigue at 3 months in the two chemotherapy groups in comparison to the non-chemotherapy and non-cancer controls. The two chemotherapy groups did not significantly differ in fatigue at any time point. Conclusion Women with breast cancer who receive non- or anthracycline-based chemotherapy experience similar trends in and levels of fatigue within the first year of treatment and greater fatigue than women receiving AIs alone or women without breast cancer.