Breast cancer survival rate doubles

It was the information she couldn't find that led to the latest discovery
by Amy Kirkham, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's School of Sport and Physical Education (KPE).

Cockham's research focuses on preventing and treating the risk
of heart disease associated with breast cancer treatment.
Cocam was invited by the Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance to co-author a scientific statement paper on women's heart health in Canada in 2020, and she needed to know what percentage of the Canadian female population had a history of
breast cancer.

But the latest figure she could find — 1 percent — was from 2007
.

"Almost 15 years on, I can't find a more recent citation
about the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada," Kirkham said.
"Breast cancer mortality continued to rise by 26 percent during that period, so I suspect that number is no longer accurate
.
"

So Kirkham, in collaboration with oncologist Katarzyna Jerzak at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Temerty School of Medicine at T University, began a new study to determine the latest estimate
of the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada in 2022, using the Canadian Cancer Society's annual Cancer Statistics Report.

The study, recently published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, found that over a 15-year period from 2007 to 2021, 370756 patients (2.
1 per cent of Canada's adult female population in 2022) were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 86 per cent of those women survived
breast cancer in 2022.

"This represents a doubling in the prevalence of breast cancer survivors among Canadian women, with a 2.
5-fold
increase in survivors since the last estimate in 2007," Kirkham said.

Previous estimates did not include the age group of survivors, but according to new estimates provided by Kirkham and Jerzak, breast cancer survivors account for 1 per cent of Canadian women in the typical working and/or child-rearing age group (ages 20 to 64) and 5.
4 per cent
of older Canadian women (over 65 years of age).

But it's not all good news
.

Many treatments that improve breast cancer mortality also have short- and long-term side effects that increase the risk
of death from other causes such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, liver disease and other non-fatal health problems.

"The most common cause of death in women with breast cancer is heart disease," Kirkham said
.

This also affects overall health care costs
.

To demonstrate the additional health care costs associated with heart disease, Kirkham and Jerzak conducted additional analyses
using data on Canadian rates of heart failure hospitalizations and their costs.
They found that 2 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2021 were likely to experience a heart failure hospitalization at a total cost of $66.
5 million
.
As many as 25 per cent, or $16.
5 million, exceed the costs
associated with women without breast cancer.

"Given the additional health care costs, the potential for reduced contributions to the workforce, and the reduced quality of life associated with long-term side effects and the risk of excessive death in breast cancer survivors, our work highlights that a growing population needs services to support recovery
after breast cancer treatment," Kirkham said.

"The goal of my research lab is to develop new therapies to improve the health of
breast cancer patients.
"

Journal Reference:

1. Amy A.
   Kirkham, Katarzyna J.
   Jerzak.
   Prevalence of Breast Cancer Survivors Among Canadian Women.
   Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2022; 20 (9): 1005 DOI: 10.
   6004/jnccn.
   2022.
   7028