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Variation over time of the factors influencing return to work and work capacities after a diagnosis of breast cancer: a study on the behalf of the Seintinelles research network

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the dynamics of the determinants of returning to work (RTW) in a population of patients treated for breast cancer (BC) in a real-world setting.

Method

We conducted a retrospective study including 1278 BC patients working or looking for work at the time of diagnosis. We performed a focused principal component analysis to highlight the dimensions of a persistent decline in work capacity. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify correlates of non-RTW 1 and 2 years after treatment.

Results

One-third (31%, n = 389) of patients continued working during treatment. At study inclusion, 1100 patients had returned to work (89%). Three-quarters (n = 508, 75%) of the women reported a decline in work capacity 1 year after RTW and 22% (n = 148) presented a persistent decline in work capacity 2 years after the diagnosis. The odds ratio for non-RTW at 1 year was significantly higher for patients treated with a combination of chemotherapy and trastuzumab (OR = 1.72, 95% CI [1.07–2.76]), manual workers (OR = 3.99, 95% CI [1.54–10.81]), patients with lower incomes (OR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.29–4.19]), and patients experiencing fatigue (OR = 1.81, 95% CI [1.34–2.48]). The odds ratio for non-RTW at 2 years was higher for various occupational categories (OR = 3.49, 95% CI [1.89–6.74] for clerks, OR = 4.58, 95% CI [1.48–12.82] for self-employed workers, OR = 8.98, 95% CI [2.69–27.89] for manual workers), patients with comorbidities (OR = 2.80, 95% CI [1.61–4.93]), and patients experiencing anxiety symptoms (OR = 2.54, 95% CI [1.18–5.76]), while the impact of the type of treatment was no longer significantly associated with RTW.

Conclusion

The determinants of RTW change over time. Patients should be offered supportive interventions tailored to risk factors and time from diagnosis.

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Data Availability

The use of data is restricted by the French regulations which gave their consent for this study. Data may be requested on a case-by-case basis by contacting the corresponding author.

Code availability

R software.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Seintinelles cancer network.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Oncology, Institut Curie, Paris, France

    Delphine Hequet, Anne-Sophie Hamy, Noemie Girard, Enora Laas, Roman Rouzier & Fabien Reyal

  2. INSERM U900, Institut Curie, St-Cloud, France

    Delphine Hequet, Roman Rouzier & Fabien Reyal

  3. Department of Surgery, Institut Curie, Paris, France

    Delphine Hequet

  4. University of Paris, Paris, France

    Anne-Sophie Hamy

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Curie, Paris, France

    Florence Coussy

  6. Social Psychology Research Group (UR GRePS), Lyon 2 University, Lyon, France

    Marie Preau

  7. Inserm UMR 1296, Radiation: Defense, Health Environment, Lyon, France

    Marie Preau

  8. Residual Tumor & Response To Treatment Laboratory, RT2Lab, Translational Research Department, INSERM, U932 Immunity and Cancer, Institut Curie, Paris, France

    Lidia Delrieu

  9. Paris University, Paris, France

    Lidia Delrieu

  10. Université de Paris, ECEVE UMR 1123, INSERM (National Institute for Health and Medical Research), Paris, France

    Agnes Dumas

  11. Clinical Research Department, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Agnes Dumas

Authors
  1. Delphine Hequet
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  2. Anne-Sophie Hamy
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  3. Noemie Girard
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  4. Enora Laas
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  5. Florence Coussy
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  6. Roman Rouzier
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  7. Marie Preau
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  8. Lidia Delrieu
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  9. Agnes Dumas
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  10. Fabien Reyal
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Contributions

Delphine Hequet: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing

Anne-Sophie Hamy: conceptualization, validation, writing—review and editing

Noemie Girard: formal analysis

Enora Laas: writing—review and editing

Florence Coussy: writing—review and editing

Roman Rouzier: writing—review and editing

Marie Preau: conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition

Lidia Delrieu: conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition

Agnes Dumas: conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition

Fabien Reyal: conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Delphine Hequet.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was approved by our ethics committee.

Consent to participate

All the patients in the study gave their consent to participate by completing the online questionnaire.

Consent for publication

NA

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hequet, D., Hamy, AS., Girard, N. et al. Variation over time of the factors influencing return to work and work capacities after a diagnosis of breast cancer: a study on the behalf of the Seintinelles research network. Support Care Cancer 30, 5991–5999 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07000-x

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