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Purpose: Multimodal therapies affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients with primary breast cancer (PBC). The objectives of this prospective study were to explore the changes in QoL from diagnosis to conclusion of adjuvant therapy and to identify predictive factors of QoL., Methods: Before surgery (t1), before onset of adjuvant treatment (t2) and after completion of adjuvant chemo- or radiotherapy (t3), patients with PBC (n = 759) completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Patient Health Questionnaire and Perceived Involvement in Care Scales. Predictors of the course of global QoL were estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Effect estimates are odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Global QoL improved between t1 and t3, while physical functioning, emotional functioning and fatigue deteriorated. QoL before surgery was more often poor in patients <60 years (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5-3.1) and in those with comorbid mental illnesses (OR 8.6, CI 5.4-13.7). Forty-seven percentage reported good global QoL both at t1 and at t3. QoL improved in 28%, worsened in 10% and remained poor in 15%. Compared to patients with consistently good global QoL, a course of improving QoL was more often seen in patients who had received a mastectomy and in those with intense fear of treatment before surgery. A course of decreasing QoL was more often found in patients who were treated with chemotherapy. QoL stayed poor in patients with chemotherapy, mastectomy and intense fear. There was no evidence that radiotherapy, progressive disease or perceived involvement impact the course of QoL., Conclusions: Younger age and comorbid mental illnesses are associated with poor QoL pre-therapeutically. QoL is more likely to stay or become poor in patients who receive chemotherapy.

Background: This study examined which patient- and physician-related factors influence guideline violations in adjuvant chemotherapy., Patients and Methods: In a prospective multi-center cohort study, patients with primary breast cancer were sampled consecutively over a period of four years (2009-2012). Patients completed a questionnaire prior to surgery and prior to adjuvant therapy. This questionnaire assessed health-related quality of life (QoL) using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30, psychiatric co-morbidity with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), demographic characteristics (age, education), and the intensity of fear for chemotherapy. After surgery, a multi-professional team discussed recommendation for adjuvant chemotherapy, and this decision was documented in a database together with the indication for chemotherapy according to the German S3 guideline. This multi-professional team was blinded to that algorithm-based decision. Six months later, it was documented whether the patient had received adjuvant chemotherapy or not., Results: Altogether, 857 patients were included in the study. In 391 of these patients, the tumor board (TB) decided to recommend chemotherapy. The most important reasons for not recommending chemotherapy were somatic co-morbidity not allowing adjuvant chemotherapy and age >75 years. Of these 391 patients, 73 (19 %) patients eventually did not receive chemotherapy. Deviations from the initial therapy decision were more frequent in older patients (≥75 years) with poor QoL. If the QoL was good, higher age was not related to deviation. There was some evidence that patients with higher education less frequently received chemotherapy (CT). Furthermore, if patients were very afraid of chemotherapy, deviations from the initial therapy decision were more likely. Co-morbidity and fear of CT were not related to the likelihood of deviating from the initial therapy decision., Conclusion: Nineteen percent of patients eventually did not receive chemotherapy, despite guideline and TB recommendations. In these patients, this mainly occurred in association with poor QoL in elderly patients >75 years old. In the group with a chemotherapy recommendation, patients' fear of chemotherapy is another factor preventing patients from undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: This study examined the frequency of psychiatric co-morbidity in patients with breast cancer, its changes over time and predictors for these changes., Methods: In a prospective study with measurements before surgery (t1, baseline), 1 month (t2) and 8 months thereafter (t3) using the Patient Health Questionnaire, we examined the course of psychiatric co-morbidity in breast cancer patients. The co-morbidity courses were grouped into healthy (no co-morbidity during the study), acute (co-morbidity at t1 and/or t2, but not at t3), emerging (no co-morbidity at t1, but at t3) and chronic (co-morbidity at t1 and t3)., Results: Of the 598 participants, 19% had acute, 10% emerging and 9% chronic psychiatric co-morbidity. Acute co-morbidity was more common in patients with poor quality of life (odds ratio (OR) 9.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4-20.8) and somatic co-morbidity (OR 3.8, CI 1.1-12.4). Patients who perceived support from their doctors had acute co-morbidity less frequently (OR 0.7, CI 0.5-1.0). Emerging co-morbidity occurred more often in younger patients (OR 2.4, CI 1.2-4.7) and in patients with another cancer in their own (OR 2.0, CI 1.1-3.9) or family (OR 2.1, CI 1.1-4.3) histories, less often in patients with support from doctors (OR 0.6, CI 0.4-1.0). Chronic co-morbidity was related to poor quality of life (OR 12.1, CI 3.6-39.9)., Conclusion: We found acute and emerging psychiatric co-morbidities less often in patients who reported having a supportive doctor-patient relationship. Patients that require psycho-oncological support often have poor quality of life and have experienced cancer before. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Objective: This study describes in detail the surgery-related symptoms following axillary lymph node dissection in breast cancer patients and considers both their significance for long term quality of life and the impact of possible influencing factors., Material and Methods: Three hundred and ninety six patients were studied retrospectively using a self-report questionnaire and a clinical examination. The symptoms, numbness, pain, edema, arm strength and mobility were evaluated. The subjective assessment of the degree of symptom intensity was compared with objective measurements. The extent of surgery (number of resected nodes, level of dissection) as well as the influence of demographic, oncologic and adjuvant measures (age, time interval, number of involved nodes, chemotherapy) were evaluated., Results: Shoulder-arm morbidity and fear of cancer recurrence were the most important long-term sources of distress following breast cancer surgery in our study population. Demographic, oncologic and therapeutic measures including the extent of surgery had no influence on long-term morbidity. The intensity of all evaluated symptoms was reported to be more severe in patients' subjective statements than in the results of clinical assessment., Conclusion: Shoulder-arm morbidity following axillary dissection is a frustrating polysymptomatic disease that seems to be relatively unaffected by therapeutic measures. The surgical trauma necessary for adequate tumor staging (removal of 10 lymph nodes) seems decisive for the postsurgery syndrome following axillary dissection. For node-positive patients complete axillary clearing may improve tumor control without worsening long-termmorbidity. New techniques, such as the sentinel-node-biopsy, that selects patients with negative axillary status while preserving the integrity of axillary structures, may improve the overall morbidity.