Breast Cancer Survivors Face Higher Risk for Hypertension, Diabetes

THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Women with, versus without, a history of breast cancer have a higher incidence of hypertension and diabetes up to 10 years following diagnosis, according to a study published online Jan. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Marilyn L. Kwan, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, and colleagues matched (in a 1:5 ratio) 14,942 women with invasive breast cancer (diagnosed from 2005 to 2013) to noncancer controls based on birth year, race, and ethnicity. Rates of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia were compared by breast cancer status.

The researchers found that breast cancer cases had higher cumulative incidence rates of hypertension (10.9 versus 8.9 percent) and diabetes (2.1 versus 1.7 percent) after two years compared with controls, with higher diabetes incidence persisting after 10 years (9.3 versus 8.8 percent). Breast cancer cases had a higher risk for diabetes (subdistribution hazard ratios [sHR], 1.16) versus controls. Diabetes risk continued to be higher among cases treated with chemotherapy (sHR, 1.23), left-sided radiation (sHR, 1.29), or endocrine therapy (sHR, 1.23). For cases receiving left-sided radiation (sHR, 1.11) or endocrine therapy (sHR, 1.10), hypertension risk was higher. Higher risk was seen for cases with normal weight (body mass index, <24.9 kg/m²) both overall and within treatment subgroups versus controls.

“Study findings highlight patients with breast cancer as a vulnerable population at higher risk of cardiometabolic risk factors and support targeted cardiovascular surveillance by specific patient and treatment characteristics to mitigate these risks,” the authors write.

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