Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer deaths in Korean women. Although tumor-induced mediators and cancer therapy can suppress cell-mediated immunity, the concurrence of herpes zoster in breast cancer patients has not been well-recognized. Objective: This study aimed to delineate the characteristics of herpes zoster in patients with breast cancer, particularly its association with patient age and breast cancer severity, treatment, and clinical course. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of breast cancer patients at a tertiary referral center in Korea from January 2003 to June 2018, identified patients with a subsequent diagnosis of herpes zoster, and analyzed their clinical characteristics. Results: Among 8,124 patients with breast cancer, 2.04% further developed zoster during a median 31-month follow-up period. Age at the diagnosis of breast cancer was higher in the zoster group than in the no zoster group.Cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy significantly increased the risk of zoster. Time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to zoster development was significantly shorter for invasive cancers than for in-situ cancers, with higher risk in the initial 2 years from the cancer diagnosis. Conclusion This study showed that breast cancer patients are at an increased risk of zoster, particularly in the time following cancer diagnosis. Therefore, a recent diagnosis of breast cancer should warrant clinical suspicion of zoster for patients with suggestive symptoms, and active management should be started.

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer deaths in Korean women. Although tumor-induced mediators and cancer therapy can suppress cell-mediated immunity, the concurrence of herpes zoster in breast cancer patients has not been well-recognized. Objective: This study aimed to delineate the characteristics of herpes zoster in patients with breast cancer, particularly its association with patient age and breast cancer severity, treatment, and clinical course. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of breast cancer patients at a tertiary referral center in Korea from January 2003 to June 2018, identified patients with a subsequent diagnosis of herpes zoster, and analyzed their clinical characteristics. Results: Among 8,124 patients with breast cancer, 2.04% further developed zoster during a median 31-month follow-up period. Age at the diagnosis of breast cancer was higher in the zoster group than in the no zoster group.Cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy significantly increased the risk of zoster. Time from the diagnosis of breast cancer to zoster development was significantly shorter for invasive cancers than for in-situ cancers, with higher risk in the initial 2 years from the cancer diagnosis. Conclusion This study showed that breast cancer patients are at an increased risk of zoster, particularly in the time following cancer diagnosis. Therefore, a recent diagnosis of breast cancer should warrant clinical suspicion of zoster for patients with suggestive symptoms, and active management should be started.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Melanoma ; Parkinson Disease

The role that children play in the transmission of the omicron variant is unclear. Here we report an outbreak that started in young children attending various pediatric facilities, leading to extensive household transmission that affected 75 families with 88 confirmed case-patients in 3 weeks. Tailored social and public health measures directed towards children and pediatric facilities are warranted with the emergence of highly transmissible omicron variant to mitigate the impact of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19).