Effect of the use of prediagnosis hormones on breast cancer prognosis: MCC-Spain study.

OBJECTIVE: To extend knowledge about the long-term use of hormones in hormone therapy or oral contraception as prognostic factors in breast cancer. METHODS: The MCC-Spain project is a cohort of 1,685 women with incident breast cancer recruited in Spain. Recruitment was carried out between 2007 and 2010, and the follow-up finished in December 2017. The impact of hormone therapy or oral contraception on breast cancer prognosis was analyzed considering year of birth and menopausal status (1,095 women [65%] were postmenopausal). Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression models. Death by any cause was considered as the event, and hormone therapy or oral contraception were analyzed as regressors. RESULTS: Oral contraception use for less than 5 years shows an HR of 1.10 (95% CI, 0.75 to 1.62), whereas use for 5 or more years shows an HR of 1.46 (95% CI, 0.95 to 2.25), with a P trend of 0.01, showing a dose-dependent response. Regarding hormone therapy and restricting the analysis to postmenopausal women born between1940 and 1959, where most hormone therapy (consumption) is concentrated, the results did not show any trend. CONCLUSION: Concerning oral contraception use, our results demonstrate that their use is related to poor prognosis in breast cancer. However, research in this field is limited and controversial, indicating the need for more research in this area. Regarding hormone therapy consumption, our results indicate no association with better prognosis, which contradicts what has previously been published.

Breast Cancer Treatment in Integrated Care Process in Andalusia: The Challenge of Multidisciplinarity.

Despite the increasing trend in the incidence of breast cancer in recent decades, mortality has decreased in developed countries. The general objective of the study is to analyse the functioning and organisation of the care process for breast cancer treatment in Andalusia (Spain) in order to identify possible barriers and facilitators that may be affecting its effectiveness and, therefore, the survival of the disease. A qualitative method was adopted based on 19 semi-structured interviews with health professionals from different specialities in two Andalusian provinces: Huelva (mortality rate higher than the national average) and Granada (mortality rate similar to the national average). Results show the existence of barriers (seasonal delays, low frequency of multidisciplinary meetings, lack of human and technical resources, difficulties in accessing treatment in certain populations, etc.) and facilitators (creation of multidisciplinary units and committees for breast pathology, standardisation of treatments, assignment of professionals with preferential attention to breast pathology, etc.) in the care process of breast cancer treatment. The combination of these barriers can have an impact on the accessibility, quality, and efficacy of the treatment, and in the long term, on survival from the disease.