[Survived breast cancer, but unemployed]

A recent Danish retrospective cohort study of 14,750 women concluded that the duration of the period of unemployment before breast cancer may be the most important determinant of unemployment following breast cancer treatment. This finding allows for the identification of a particularly vulnerable group of patients in need of rehabilitation. The generalizability of the findings of the Danish study is discussed in this article. Can these findings be applied to Dutch daily practice too? Further research is required to answer this question because of differences between the Danish and Dutch systems of social insurance. A similar Dutch retrospective cohort study is under way, and preliminary results are expected to be published in 2014. Findings from both studies may be used to develop rehabilitation and vocational therapy interventions aiming to prevent unemployment and to increase work participation.