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This study aimed to identify post-traumatic growth and successful aging and the mediating effects of resilience and intolerance of uncertainty in breast cancer survivors. This study employed a descriptive survey approach. Data were collected from 143 breast cancer survivors between 27 January and 10 December 2021, at a cancer center in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. SPSS/WIN 25.0 and PROCESS Macro version 3.5 were used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were analyzed with SPSS. PROCESS was used to conduct a mediation analysis and the significance of the mediating effect was evaluated using 95% confidence intervals. Successful aging was significantly associated with post-traumatic growth, resilience, and the intolerance of uncertainty. The impact of post-traumatic growth on successful aging was mediated by resilience in breast cancer survivors. Resilience should be considered when developing nursing interventions to enhance post-traumatic growth and promote successful aging in breast cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women from Asian and western countries have vastly different ages of onset of breast cancer, with the disease tending to occur at an older age in the West. Through an investigation of the patterns of old-onset breast cancer (OBC) in Korean women, we aimed to identify the characteristics of Korean OBC and evaluate whether these patterns are changing in relation to increasing westernization.Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 102,379 patients who underwent surgical treatment of primary breast cancer between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2013 in Korea. We used hospital -based breast cancer registry and analyzed data from these patients using multiple linear regression analysis to compare the characteristics and chronologically changing patterns between OBC (70 years of age or older) and non-OBC (40-69 years of age) patients in Korea.Results: A total of 6% of the 102,379 patients had OBC. Overall, OBC had more favorable biological features, such as a higher incidence of luminal A subtype, than did non-OBC, except for a higher incidence rate of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, OBC also presented with a higher overall disease stage, including higher T and M stages. Although the incidence rates of both OBC and non-OBC have increased overtime, the relative proportion of OBC patients has slightly increased, whereas that of non-OBC has slightly decreased. The increase in the incidence of both OBC and non-OBC was primarily due to the luminal A subtype.Conclusions: Based on a hospital-based registry, overall, Korean OBC had favorable biological features but showed a higher rate of TNBC and advanced cancer stages. The incidence trend of breast cancer in Korea is slowly shifting toward an older age at onset, largely due to the luminal A subtype. Our results may provide novel insights into OBC in Asia, and aid in the development of optimal management of the disease in Asia.Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a controversy about late-onset congestive heart failure (CHF) among breast cancer survivors. This study investigated the incidence rate and risk factors of late-onset CHF more than 2 years after the breast cancer diagnosis.Methods: A nationwide, retrospective study was conducted with the National Health Information Database. With 1:3 age- and sex-matched noncancer controls, Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the incidence and risk factors of late CHF. The cumulative incidence rate of late CHF was evaluated with a Kaplan-Meier analysis and a log-rank test.Results: A total of 91,227 cases (286,480 person-years) and 273,681 controls (884,349 person-years) were evaluated between January 2007 and December 2013. The risks of late CHF were higher in cases than controls (hazard ratio [HR], 1.396; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.268-1.538). Younger survivors (age ≤ 50 years) showed a higher risk of late CHF than their younger counterparts (HR, 2.903; 95% CI, 2.425-3.474). Although older age was a risk factor for late CHF, older survivors (age ≥ 66 years) showed no difference in the risk of late CHF in comparison with their counterparts (HR, 0.906; 95% CI, 0.757-1.084). Anthracyclines and taxanes were risk factors for late CHF, although trastuzumab, radiation, and endocrine therapy were not.Conclusions: Young breast cancer survivors have a greater risk of late CHF than the young population without cancer. More attention should be paid to young breast cancer survivors who receive taxane- or anthracycline-based regimens over the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bone metastasis is an important factor for the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer patients. Whole-body bone scintigraphy (WBBS) can evaluate skeletal metastases, and F-FDG PET/CT seems to exhibit high specificity and accuracy in detecting bone metastases. However, there is a limitation of F-FDG PET in assessing sclerotic bone metastases because some lesions may be undetectable. Recent studies showed that F-fluoride PET/CT is more sensitive than WBBS in detecting bone metastases. This study aims to evaluate the usefulness of F-fluoride PET/CT by comparing it with WBBS and F-FDG PET/CT in breast cancer patients with osteosclerotic skeletal metastases. Materials and Methods: Nine breast cancer patients with suspected bone metastases (9 females; mean age ± SD, 55.6 ± 10.0 years) underwent Tc-MDP WBBS, F-FDG PET/CT and F-fluoride PET/CT. Lesion-based analysis of five regions of the skeletons (skull, vertebral column, thoracic cage, pelvic bones and long bones of extremities) and patient-based analysis were performed. Results: F-fluoride PET/CT, F-FDG PET/CT and WBBS detected 49, 20 and 25 true metastases, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of F-fluoride PET/CT were 94.2 %, 46.3 %, 57.7 % and 91.2 %, respectively. Most true metastatic lesions on F-fluoride PET/CT had osteosclerotic change (45/49, 91.8 %), and only four lesions showed osteolytic change. Most lesions on F-FDG PET/CT also demonstrated osteosclerotic change (17/20, 85.0 %) with three osteolytic lesions. All true metastatic lesions detected on WBBS and F-FDG PET/CT were identified on F-fluoride PET/CT. Conclusion: F-fluoride PET/CT is superior to WBBS or F-FDG PET/CT in detecting osteosclerotic metastatic lesions. F-fluoride PET/CT might be useful in evaluating osteosclerotic metastases in breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]