[Quality of life with adjuvant treatment of breast cancer]

Adjuvant therapy in cancer of the breast is given to patients with high risks for recurrence after the primary operation. This involves cytotoxic therapy, endocrine therapy and radiotherapy and results in reduction of the mortality. The increasing interest in how the patients experience these treatments has resulted in numerous publications about the quality of life. Physical, mental, sexual and social conditions are influenced by adjuvant therapy. The majority of published works have, however, methodological weaknesses so that the extent and duration of these influences are not yet known in detail. Increased knowledge concerning the significance for the quality of life of various forms of therapy may improve the basis for information, choice between therapeutic alternatives and prevention and treatment of conditions which reduce the quality of life.