Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39531324›Full record

ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2025

Impact of major depressive disorder on breast cancer outcomes: a national retrospective cohort study.

Maya Aboumrad, Corinne Joshu, Kala Visvanathan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Maya AboumradWhite River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, VT 05009, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-6140-4250
Corinne JoshuDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5100-172X
Kala VisvanathanDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-0582-8005

Funding

Translational Research Central ServicesP30CA006973 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI ALAN KEITH MEEKER · 1985 to 2026
$208.6M
ZINC AND CA EDTA THERAPY OF PLUMBISMM01RR000052 · NCRR · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI VINING, EILEEN PATRICE · 1985 to 2007
$37.3M
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY FELLOWSHIPT32CA009314 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Corinne E. Joshu, Meghan Bridgid Moran · 1985 to 2026
$11.2M
K07 Preventive Oncology Academic AwardK07CA111948 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI VISVANATHAN, KALA · 2005 to 2009
$701k
Breast Cancer Research FoundationNCI NIH HHS K07 CA111948NCI NIH HHS P30 CA006973NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009314NCRR NIH HHS M01 RR000052NIH HHS T32-CA009314VA Medical Centers
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEstablishing whether women with major depressive disorder who develop breast cancer have poor outcomes is key to optimizing care for this population. To this end, we examined associations between major depressive disorder and breast cancer recurrence and mortality.

methodsUsing medical record data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs health-care system, we established a retrospective cohort of women with local or regional stage invasive breast cancer between 2010 and 2019 and followed them through 2022. We used a 2-year window to identify women diagnosed with major depressive disorder before breast cancer diagnosis. We used multivariable Cox-proportional hazards regression to estimate associations between major depressive disorder and breast cancer recurrence and mortality while accounting for competing risks and adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical, lifestyle, and tumor characteristics.

resultsWe identified 6051 women with breast cancer, of whom 1754 (29%) had major depressive disorder. The mean (SD) age at breast cancer diagnosis was 57 (11) years. In multivariable analyses, women with major depressive disorder had a 37% (hazard ratio = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.57) higher risk of recurrence and a 30% (hazard ratio = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.64) higher risk of breast cancer mortality. The association between major depressive disorder and recurrence was stronger among women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. In secondary analyses, there were statistically significant interactions between major depressive disorder and multiple exposures with respect to recurrence, including current smoking, substance abuse, and nonreceipt of screening mammography.

conclusionsWomen with major depressive disorder had inferior breast cancer outcomes compared with women without a history of major depressive disorder. Research is needed to investigate underlying mechanisms linking depression to breast cancer progression and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes in this high-risk population.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsMajor Depressive DisorderNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalAdultAgedFemaleHumansMiddle AgedProportional Hazards ModelsRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsUnited States

Identifiers

PMID39531324
PMCPMC11972680

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.