Side effects of hormone therapy in patients with malignant breast neoplasm: a cross-sectional study.
Erilaine de Freitas Corpes, Romel Jonathan Velasco Yanez, Cristina Poliana Rolim Saraiva Dos Santos and 5 others
PMID 41370618WHAT IT FOUND
Breast hormone therapy side effects were common: hot flashes, night sweats, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and sexual complaints.
Tamoxifen users reported more sexual complaints. Anastrozole users reported hot flashes, musculoskeletal pain, and fatigue. Night sweats were also common.
Key findings
01Women taking tamoxifen reported more sexual complaints, especially if they had taken it for more than 12 months. Women taking anastrozole reported hot flashes, musculoskeletal pain, and fatigue, and those taking it for 12 months or less reported more side effects.
02Night sweats were associated with alcohol consumption and calcium replacement, while weight gain and musculoskeletal pain were associated with chemotherapy.
03Of 110 women undergoing hormone therapy at the clinic, 75 were included; 35 were not included because of refusal, inability to complete the form, discontinued treatment, or absence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysed sample was 75 women, below the calculated target of 88, because of strikes and rescheduled appointments. Side effects were recorded only as present or absent, so severity, timing, and impact on function were not measured. The study excluded women receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy at the same time as hormone therapy, yet reported associations with chemotherapy, so the timing of chemotherapy is unclear. The setting was one outpatient clinic in Brazil, and most participants had invasive ductal carcinoma and stage II disease, so results may not apply to other populations or more advanced disease. Associations are not causal; alcohol, calcium replacement, and chemotherapy may reflect other differences between women.
Declared interests
The funding statement names only Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil (CAPES), Financing Code 001. No other funding or conflict declaration is given.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that calcium replacement worsens musculoskeletal pain or that alcohol causes night sweats. The study only found associations at one time point in a small sample and cannot show cause or effect.