Table 1.
Participant descriptive data.
| Variable | Young controls (n = 12) | Matched controls (n = 16) | Breast cancer survivors (n = 16) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics and anthropometrics | ||||
| Age (years, mean ± SD) | 25 ± 4 | 56 ± 10* | 56 ± 10* | < 0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2, mean ± SD) | 22 ± 2 | 28 ± 5* | 29 ± 4* | < 0.001 |
| Body surface area (m2, mean ± SD) | 1.68 ± 0.10 | 1.84 ± 0.15* | 1.84 ± 0.18* | < 0.01 |
| Caucasian (n (%)) | 12 (100%) | 16 (100%) | 15 (94%) | 1.00 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | p-value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 0 | 2 (13%) | 4 (25%) | 0.654 |
| Hypertension‡ | 0 | 0 | 2 (13%) | 0.484 |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 0 | 2 (13%) | 0 | 0.484 |
| Former smoker | 0 | 8 (50%) | 7 (44%) | 1.00 |
| Current smoker | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Diabetes | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) | 0 | 8 (50%) | 5 (31%) | 0.473 |
| Obese (30.0 + kg/m2) | 0 | 7 (44%) | 7 (44%) | 1.00 |
| Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment | n (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | ||||
| I/II | 8 (50%) | |||
| III | 7 (44%) | |||
| IV | 1 (6%) | |||
| Receptor status | ||||
| Estrogen positive | 12 (75%) | |||
| Progesterone positive | 8 (50%) | |||
| Human epidermal growth factor 2 positive | 0 | |||
| Triple negative | 4 (25%) | |||
| Chemotherapy regimen | ||||
| 3 × fluorouracil, epirubicin & cyclophosphamide + 3 × docetaxel | 14 (88%) | |||
| 6 × fluorouracil, epirubicin & cyclophosphamide | 1 (6%) | |||
| 5 × fluorouracil, doxorubicin & cyclophosphamide | 1 (6%) | |||
| Post-intravenous chemotherapy capecitabine | 2 (13%) | |||
| Radiation therapy | ||||
| Left | 11 (69%) | |||
| Right | 4 (25%) | |||
| Hormonal therapy (current) | ||||
| Aromatase inhibitor | 5 (31%) | |||
| Tamoxifen | 4 (25%) | |||
| Both | 2 (13%) | |||
*Statistically different from young controls at p ≤ 0.01.
†P-value shown for comparison between matched controls and survivors only as young controls lacked all of these risk factors by default.
‡Of the two breast cancer group participants reporting a history of hypertension, only one was currently on medication (a calcium channel blocker) and she reported not taking it during anthracycline therapy or on the day of the assessment.