The number of cancer survivors is increasing dramatically. Many cancer survivors face lifetime risks associated with their cancer therapy, with a significant proportion at risk for serious morbidity and premature mortality. Concerns regarding the long-term physical, psychosocial, and economic effects of cancer treatment on cancer survivors and their families are increasingly being recognized and addressed by public and private sector. This article summarizes economic burden of cancer survivors, main post-treatment health problems including secondary primary cancer and comorbidities, health behaviors such as smoking, exercise and physical activity, nutrition, and psychosocial problems. Faced with various health and psychosocial problems specific to this population, several healthcare and policy models are being suggested to address these issues, including 'shared care model' and 'integrative supportive care service delivery system for cancer survivors'. More effort is needed to make the cancer survivorship agenda a reality, attended by a wide variety of stakeholders including researchers, patients, providers, and policy makers.
Delivery of Health Care ; Health Behavior ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Neoplasms/economics/pathology/*therapy ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/epidemiology/mortality/pathology ; *Public Health ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: Newly developed extra-mammary multiple primary cancers (MPCs) are an issue of concern when considering the management of breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MPCs and to evaluate the implications of MPCs on the survival of breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 8204 patients who underwent surgery at Severance Hospital between 1990 and 2012 were retrospectively selected. Clinicopathologic features and survival over follow-up periods of < or =5 and >5 years were investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 67.3 months, 962 MPCs in 858 patients (10.5%) were detected. Synchronous and metachronous MPCs were identified in 23.8% and 79.0% of patients, respectively. Thyroid cancer was the most prevalent, and the second most common was gynecologic cancer. At < or =5 years, patients with MPCs were older and demonstrated significantly worse survival despite a higher proportion of patients with lower-stage MPCs. Nevertheless, an increased risk of death in patients with MPCs did not reach statistical significance at >5 years. The causes of death in many of the patients with MPCs were not related to breast cancer. Stage-matched analysis revealed that the implications of MPCs on survival were more evident in the early stages of breast disease. CONCLUSION: Breast cancer patients with MPCs showed worse survival, especially when early-stage disease was identified. Therefore, it is necessary to follow screening programs in breast cancer survivors and to establish guidelines for improving prognosis and quality of life.
Adult ; Aged ; Breast/pathology ; Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis/*mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/diagnosis/*mortality ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/diagnosis/*mortality ; Prognosis ; *Quality of Life ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and features of non-endometrial cancers in Thai endometrial cancer (EC) patients. METHODS: EC patients treated in our institution were identified and the following data were collected: age, EC stage, histopathology, adjuvant therapy, other cancers, living status, and cause of death. RESULTS: The mean age of the 344 patients was 56.8+/-10.8 years. Fifty (14.5%) had other synchronous and metachronous cancers. Mean ages of the patients with or without other cancers were not significantly different, 55.7+/-10.04 years versus 57.1+/-11.0 years, respectively (p=0.358). History of any cancer in the family and tumor in the lower uterine segment were more frequent among the patients with other cancers (6.0% vs. 1.7%, p=0.095; 12.0% vs. 1.0%, p<0.001; respectively). Six patients had > or =2 other cancers. Ovarian, breast, and colon were the three most common other cancers. After a median follow-up of 57.1 months, 18.3% of patients had died: 30.0% of patients with other cancers and 16.3% of those without other cancers. The corresponding EC deaths were 14.0% and 11.2%. The 5-year overall survival was significantly lower in patients who had other cancers: 79.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 68.3 to 90.3) vs. 86.0% (95% CI, 81.7 to 90.3) than in those without (p=0.023). However, the corresponding disease-specific survival was not significantly different: 85.1% (95% CI, 75.5 to 94.7) compared with 89.0% (95% CI, 85.1 to 92.9), respectively (p=0.514). CONCLUSION: Thai EC patients had a high incidence of other cancers. Overall survival of EC patients who had other cancers was worse than those without, while disease-specific survival was not significantly different.
Breast Neoplasms/mortality/pathology/therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant/methods ; Colonic Neoplasms/mortality/pathology/therapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Endometrial Neoplasms/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/mortality ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant/methods ; Tertiary Care Centers/statistics & numerical data ; Thailand/epidemiology