Long-term effects of the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer upon young breast cancer survivors.

9045 Background: Approximately 25% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are age 50 years (yrs) or younger. Studies have shown that, in comparison to older patients, the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer has greater impact on mental health, social functioning, and psychological well-being in younger women. Methods: Utilizing the Breast Cancer Management System of the University of Texas MD Anderson (UTMDACC) Breast Medical Oncology Department, we identified women who had been evaluated at UTMDACC and were ≤45 yrs at time of diagnosis of breast cancer. Each patient was mailed a survey comprised of: the Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors (QLACS) survey, Menopause Symptom Scale (MSS), and questions assessing pertinent background information. We used descriptive statistics to summarize QLACS and MSS data. Regression methods were used to model QLACS total score as a function of years since diagnosis, MSS total score, race/ethnicity, and background factors. Results: 1116 (49.8%) patients completed the survey. Mean age at diagnosis was 39.6 yrs (SD: 5), and age at time of survey was 47.6 yrs (SD: 6.8). 54.9% had received chemotherapy, and 55.1% had taken endocrine therapy. Clinical stages were: I (27.4%), II (33.6%), III (13%), and IV (5.6%), and unknown/missing (20.4%). Analysis of QLACS scores demonstrated that, compared to white women, black women demonstrated higher levels of social avoidance (p=.0058) and financial difficulty (p=.0009). Hispanic women had poorer scores on family-related distress (p=.0026) and cancer specific distress (p=.0076). Women diagnosed at age ≤40 yrs had significantly less sexual interest (p=.0014) after treatment than women over 40 yrs. Stage, adjuvant chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and type of surgery were not significantly correlated with quality of life, as measured by the QLACS. Conclusions: Age and race had greater effect upon quality of life (QOL) of young breast cancer survivors than treatment modalities such as chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and type of surgery. These findings highlight the importance of individualized approaches to improvement of QOL in young breast cancer patients, with special emphasis upon demographics.