SAN ANTONIO – Adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy in women with early-stage breast cancer was associated with worse oral health–related quality of life in a preliminary analysis from an ongoing prospective cohort study.
“Oral health is critical to overall health, and the findings of this study suggest the need to focus attention on dental health education for these patients related to improved home care regimens and optimizing intervals for dental evaluations,” Linda S. Taichman, Ph.D., said at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The study – the first ever to report on oral health issues in women with early breast cancer on aromatase inhibitors (AIs) – included 58 postmenopausal women. Half were on adjuvant AIs; the other half were recruited at the time of screening mammography, didn’t have breast cancer, and weren’t taking an AI. The two groups were similar in terms of demographics, frequency of daily brushing and flossing, and frequency of dental visits.
At entry into what is scheduled to be an 18-month study, participants completed the Oral Health Impact Profile–14 and the Michigan Oral Health–Related Quality of Life Scale, both of which measure self-reported dysfunction, discomfort, and disability on a self-rated 5-point scale.
The adjuvant AI users reported significantly lower oral health–related quality of life than controls in multiple domains: more pain and aching in the mouth; greater discomfort when eating; a need to limit the foods they eat; interruption of meals; a feeling of being self-conscious, tense, and embarrassed about problems in their mouth; and being irritable with others. The longer patients had been on an AI, the lower their oral health quality of life scores, Dr. Taichman of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, reported.
Oral health quality of life was unrelated to whether a breast cancer patient had undergone chemotherapy.
Saliva flow rate as an indicator of oral health was measured at baseline. Women on AIs were less likely to be able to produce a 2-mL saliva sample.
The study sample size was insufficient to determine if there were differences between specific AIs in terms of patient oral health. Additional studies are ongoing, Dr. Taichman added.
She noted that both groups of women had room for improvement in terms of their oral care regimens. At baseline, only about 40% of subjects reported brushing every day, and less than half of the women flossed daily.
The study is funded by the Michigan Institute for Clinical Health Research. She reported having no relevant financial conflicts.