Table 1.
Baseline characteristics and relevant drug exposures among stage I–III breast cancer patients diagnosed in Denmark from 1996 to 2003, by glucocorticoid (GC) use (N = 18 251)
| Characteristics | Women, No. (%) |
Recurrence, No. (%) |
Total person-years, No. (%) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC users (N = 4602) | Nonusers (N = 13 649) | GC users (N = 621) | Nonusers (N = 2787) | GC users (N = 23 004) | Nonusers (N = 71 341) | |
| Age at diagnosis (years) | ||||||
| ≤29 | 19 (0.4) | 51 (0.4) | 8 (1.3) | 22 (0.8) | 100 (0.4) | 189 (0.3) |
| 30–39 | 242 (5.3) | 667 (4.9) | 48 (7.7) | 210 (7.5) | 1234 (5.4) | 3384 (4.7) |
| 40–49 | 861 (19) | 2593 (19) | 102 (16) | 528 (19) | 4697 (20) | 14 741 (21) |
| 50–59 | 1498 (33) | 4576 (34) | 187 (30) | 960 (35) | 7796 (34) | 25 173 (35) |
| 60–69 | 1439 (31) | 3969 (29) | 200 (32) | 780 (28) | 6846 (30) | 20 172 (28) |
| 70–79 | 531 (12) | 1681 (12) | 75 (12) | 278 (10) | 2297 (10) | 7397 (10) |
| ≥80 | 12 (0.3) | 112 (0.8) | 1 (0.2) | 9 (0.3) | 34 (0.2) | 285 (0.4) |
| Menopausal status at diagnosis | ||||||
| Premenopausal | 1417 (31) | 4103 (30) | 177 (28) | 875 (31) | 7827 (34) | 23 157 (32) |
| Postmenopausal | 3184 (69) | 9544 (70) | 444 (72) | 1911 (69) | 15 174 (66) | 48 181 (68) |
| Missing | 1 | 2 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Medical history at diagnosisa | ||||||
| Myocardial infarction | 45 (1.0) | 164 (1.2) | 6 (1.0) | 22 (0.8) | 211 (0.9) | 678 (1.0) |
| Congestive heart failure | 58 (1.3) | 108 (0.8) | 6 (1.0) | 9 (0.3) | 220 (1.0) | 379 (0.5) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 73 (1.6) | 186 (1.4) | 8 (1.3) | 28 (1.0) | 319 (1.4) | 746 (0.9) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 124 (2.7) | 333 (2.4) | 21 (3.4) | 58 (2.1) | 520 (2.3) | 1427 (1.0) |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 448 (9.7) | 235 (1.7) | 66 (11) | 44 (1.6) | 2122 (9.2) | 1034 (1.4) |
| Diabetes without complications | 86 (1.9) | 291 (2.1) | 15 (2.4) | 56 (2.0) | 327 (1.4) | 1314 (1.8) |
| Diabetes w/organ damage | 28 (0.6) | 108 (0.8) | 2 (0.3) | 20 (0.7) | 99 (0.4) | 490 (0.7) |
| Renal disease | 32 (0.7) | 59 (0.4) | 4 (0.6) | 6 (0.2) | 152 (0.7) | 298 (0.4) |
| Liver disease (mod./severe) | 3 (0.1) | 20 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (0) | 91 (0.1) |
| RA | 39 (0.9) | 137 (1.0) | 8 (1.3) | 28 (1.0) | 205 (0.1) | 620 (0.9) |
| COPD | 285 (6.2) | 169 (1.2) | 40 (6.4) | 28 (1.0) | 1330 (5.8) | 743 (1.0) |
| Asthma | 242 (5.3) | 71 (0.5) | 35 (5.6) | 17 (0.6) | 1191 (5.2) | 339 (0.5) |
| IBD | 55 (1.2) | 52 (0.4) | 4 (0.6) | 8 (0.3) | 272 (1.2) | 263 (0.4) |
| UICC stage | ||||||
| I | 1889 (41) | 4999 (37) | 171 (28) | 643 (23) | 10 006 (44) | 26 688 (37) |
| II | 1957 (43) | 5991 (44) | 247 (40) | 1098 (39) | 10 105 (44) | 32 668 (46) |
| III | 732 (16) | 2593 (19) | 199 (32) | 1033 (37) | 2773 (12) | 9788 (14) |
| Missing | 2 | 5 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Histological grade | ||||||
| Low | 1290 (28) | 3622 (27) | 114 (18) | 515 (19) | 6850 (30) | 20 864 (29) |
| Moderate | 1617 (35) | 4854 (36) | 230 (37) | 1042 (37) | 7943 (35) | 24 756 (35) |
| High | 850 (19) | 2705 (20) | 160 (26) | 779 (28) | 3959 (17) | 12 440 (17) |
| Missing | 845 (18) | 2468 (18) | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| ER/adjuvant ET status | ||||||
| ER−/ET− | 900 (20) | 2784 (20) | 157 (25) | 718 (26) | 4384 (19) | 13 260 (19) |
| ER+/ET− | 1415 (31) | 4143 (30) | 160 (26) | 713 (26) | 7282 (32) | 22 569 (32) |
| ER+/ET+ | 2097 (46) | 6197 (45) | 271 (44) | 1222 (44) | 10 392 (45) | 32 798 (46) |
| Missing | 190 (4.1) | 525 (3.9) | 33 (5.3) | 134 (4.8) | NA | NA |
| Type of primary therapy | ||||||
| Mastectomy | 2000 (43) | 5857 (43) | 289 (47) | 1209 (43) | 9859 (43) | 29 437 (41) |
| Mastectomy + RT | 998 (22) | 3341 (24) | 170 (27) | 922 (33) | 4764 (21) | 16 252 (23) |
| BCS + RT | 1603 (35) | 4451 (33) | 161 (26) | 656 (24) | 8375 (36) | 25 652 (36) |
| Missing | 1 | 0 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Adjuvant chemotherapy | ||||||
| Yes | 1369 (30) | 4071 (30) | 211 (34) | 976 (35) | 7208 (31) | 21 675 (30) |
| No | 3233 (70) | 9578 (70) | 410 (66) | 1811 (65) | 15 795 (69) | 49 666 (70) |
| Drug exposurea | ||||||
| Statins, pre and postb | 946 (21) | 2290 (17) | 62 (10) | 194 (7) | 5360 (23) | 15 472 (22) |
| Simvastatin, pre and postb | 857 (19) | 2111 (16) | 42 (6.8) | 156 (5.6) | 4932 (21) | 14 539 (20) |
| HRT, pre | 1236 (27) | 2855 (21) | 142 (33) | 477 (17) | 6337 (28) | 15 517 (22) |
| NSAIDs, pre and post | 3414 (53) | 8635 (63) | 406 (65) | 1612 (58) | 17 920 (78) | 48 812 (68) |
| ASAs, pre and post | 1030 (22) | 2510 (18) | 92 (15) | 342 (12) | 5410 (24) | 14 559 (20) |
| α-Blockers, pre and post | 73 (1.6) | 171 (1.3) | 4 (0.6) | 26 (0.9) | 394 (1.7) | 995 (1.2) |
| Anticoagulants, pre and post | 1103 (24) | 2788 (20) | 98 (16) | 390 (14) | 5734 (25) | 15 980 (22) |
| Antidiabetics, pre and post | 86 (1.9) | 297 (2.3) | 13 (2.1) | 40 (1.4) | 412 (1.8) | 1590 (2.2) |
| ACE inhibitors, pre and post | 845 (18) | 2203 (16) | 84 (14) | 245 (8.8) | 4552 (20) | 13 565 (19) |
| Angiotensin receptor blocker, pre and post | 621 (14) | 1357 (9.9) | 58 (9.3) | 160 (5.7) | 3407 (15) | 8200 (12) |
| β-Blockers, pre and post | 995 (22) | 2613 (19) | 85 (14) | 380 (14) | 5262 (23) | 15119 (21) |
| COPD drugs, pre and post | 1685 (37) | 1107 (8.1) | 244 (39) | 155 (5.6) | 8352 (36) | 6035 (8.5) |
| Immune drugsc | 48 (1) | 48 (0.04) | 3 (0.4) | 6 (0.2) | 298 (1.3) | 258 (0.4) |
aProportions of patients, recurrences, and person-years calculated with denominators equal to sums within GC exposure groups because categories are not mutually exclusive.
bOne year before diagnosis and up to 10 years after diagnosis.
cMethotrexate and azathioprine.
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; ER, estrogen receptor status; ET, adjuvant endocrine therapy; BCS, breast-conserving surgery; RT, radiation therapy; ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; HRT, combination hormone replacement therapy; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; ASAs, acetyl salicylic acids (high and low dose).