A new study led by ACS investigators shows breast cancer survivors in the United States receiving chemotherapy or endocrine therapy (without chemotherapy) had different long-lasting physical health decline compared to women who were cancer-free. Physical health is the body’s ability to function normally and includes factors like being able to carry out activities, daily living, fatigue, or pain. The findings are published Feb. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open.

“Patients with breast cancer suffer from an abundance of long-term and late health effects and are at risk of earlier onset disease and higher incidence of chronic health conditions,” said Dr. Clara Bodelon, senior principal scientist, survivorship research at ACS and lead author of the report. “These findings are important because understanding factors related to their physical health decline could lead to interventions to improve their health outcomes.”

“This is encouraging news for breast cancer survivors. If they do not receive chemotherapy, it is unlikely that they will have long-lasting physical health decline,” Bodelon added. “However, further studies are needed to confirm these results and to better understand the health consequences of these treatments.”

Dr. Lauren Teras is the senior author of the study. Other ACS researchers who contributed to the report include Matthew Masters, Den E Bloodworth, Peter Briggs, Dr. Erika Rees-Punia, Dr. Lauren McCullough, and Dr. Alpa Patel.

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