Identifying vulnerable populations among breast cancer survivors.

Abstract

176 Background: Long term survival is common after breast cancer treatment with 5-year survival rate reaching almost 90%. Many breast cancer survivors (BCS) face varying degrees of quality of life (QOL) issues depending on their age of diagnosis, severity of their disease, and treatment course. This is a retrospective analysis to describe demographics, QOL concerns, and to identify vulnerable populations among the BCS. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of BCS seen at our Breast Cancer Survivorship Program from Oct 2016 to Oct 2017. Patients were given a comprehensive survey to assess self-reported symptoms and concerns following their treatment. Chi-square test was used to analyze group differences. The Fisher exact test was employed when any of the expected frequencies was five or less. Results: 252 patients (age 26-93; median 60) were seen. Characteristics are listed in the Table. Most common self-reported concerns affecting BCS were: fatigue (40%), insomnia (38%), hot flashes (29%), night sweats (26%), pain (26%), trouble concentrating (26%), and neuropathy (25%). Majority(87%) reported having a happy outlook and felt that they have a sense of purpose (85%), but about 12% of BCS felt isolated at least 50% of their time. Young cancer survivors (age ≤45) (p<0.0001), higher stage BCS (Stage 2-3) (p=0.0023), and those who had chemotherapy either alone or as part of their multi-modality treatment (p=0.0061) were significantly more likely to worry about their cancer post treatment. The same populations were significantly less likely to return back to at least 50% of their pre-treatment baseline (young cancer survivors p=0.0049; higher stage p=0.0011; chemo+/-other treatments p=0.0012). Conclusions: Majority of BCS report a happy and optimistic outlook post treatment, but some may experience significant QOL issues. Identifying common concerns after treatments and vulnerable populations are especially important to deliver quality care and to optimize interventions. [Table: see text]