Summary
Because treatment for breast cancer may adversely affect skeletal metabolism, we investigated vertebral fracture risk in women with non-metastatic breast cancer. The prevalence of vertebral fracture was similar in women at the time of first diagnosis to that in an age-matched sample of the general population. The incidence of vertebral fracture, however, was nearly five times greater than normal in women from the time of first diagnosis [odds ratio (OR), 4.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 2.3–9.9], and 20-fold higher in women with soft-tissue metastases without evidence of skeletal metastases (OR, 22.7; 95% CI, 9.1–57.1). We conclude that vertebral fracture risk is markedly increased in women with breast cancer.
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Kanis, J., McCloskey, E., Powles, T. et al. A high incidence of vertebral fracture in women with breast cancer. Br J Cancer 79, 1179–1181 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690188
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690188
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