Women with breast cancer who receive chemotherapy appear more likely than those treated with radiation therapy to experience a major change in work status, according to a study published in the journal Cancer, Reuters reports. For the study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher Michael Hassett and colleagues used a large health insurance claims database to identify 3,233 women who were first diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2002. All of the women were younger than age 64, insured, and working full time or part time as of diagnosis. About 54% of the women received chemotherapy, and 58% received radiation therapy.

Hassett said that most of the women did "not experience a significant change in their employment after cancer diagnosis and treatment." However, of the 6.6% who experienced such a change, those who received chemotherapy had a 1.8-fold greater risk of leaving work, retiring or going on long-term disability leave in the subsequent year. Sixty-seven percent of women who experienced a change went from full-time employment to early retirement, while the rest went from full-time employment to long-term disability or retirement, or their status was unknown. Although the study looked at many factors, only chemotherapy and older age were associated with an increased likelihood of a change in employment. Hassett said that most of the participants in the study worked for large employers that offered health insurance. He added that further research is needed to evaluate the effect of cancer diagnosis and treatment on work status for women who are self-employed or work for smaller companies.