Photo/Illutration The main hall of Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward is illuminated in pink as part of a campaign to eradicate breast cancer in 2014. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Women with breast cancer are more susceptible to health issues such as heart failure and bone fractures, research shows.

Scientists from the University of Tsukuba and other institutions are recommending that patients with breast cancer, the most common type of tumor among Japanese women, also focus on preventing other illnesses.

Based on a follow-up survey of 120,000 women, the research team found that breast cancer survivors face a higher risk of developing various health conditions than their healthy counterparts.

The findings were published in the medical journal Lancet Regional Health at (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101519).

“We urge breast cancer survivors to pay close attention to their health even after their cancer treatment is over,” said Masao Iwagami, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Tsukuba, who is part of the research team.

One in nine women in Japan is estimated to contract breast cancer. This kind of tumor often afflicts young women, too.

The survival rate for breast cancer patients is relatively high, thanks to recent advances in early detection and treatment technologies. 

The researchers examined women aged 18 to 74 who had been registered between 2005 and 2019 in a database on medical insurance bill statements as well as health checkup results.

A total of 24,017 breast cancer survivors who underwent surgery were picked out for the study. Additionally, 96,068 women without breast cancer from the same age group were tracked for up to 10 years for comparison.

The subjects’ risks of being affected by 12 non-cancer diseases were analyzed.

The survey results showed that breast cancer survivors were 3.99 times more likely to suffer heart failure.

The risk of developing atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heart rhythm, was 1.83 times higher. The figures for osteoporotic fractures, other sorts of broken bones, gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections were 1.63, 1.82, 3.55, 2.69 and 1.68 times higher, respectively. The risk for depression or anxiety likewise rose 3.06-fold.

Most of these eight risk-heightened conditions appeared even more frequently in breast cancer survivors within one year after being diagnosed as having the carcinoma rather than at later stages in life.

Bone fractures, conversely, were increasingly common at later stages, rather than within the first year. The fracture likelihood tended to rise over time.

Chitose Kawamura, a specially appointed assistant professor of breast surgery at the University of Tsukuba and a member of the research team, advised patients, based on the latest findings, to take every possible precaution to stay healthy.

“Once diagnosed with breast cancer, it is important for people to not only go to medical centers regularly for follow-up examinations but also undergo general health checkups periodically,” Kawamura said.

“Our hope is that patients will stick to healthy lifestyle habits, such as proper exercise and diet, so that other disorders will not develop and affect them later on.”

Related News