Association Between Danish Guideline Treatments for Breast Cancer and Physiotherapy-Relevant Late Effects: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Compared with breast-conserving surgery (breast-conserving surgery) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (sentinel lymph node biopsy) with radiotherapy, treatment combinations involving mastectomy or axillary lymph node dissection (axillary lymph node dissection) with radiotherapy were associated with approximately threefold higher odds of self-reported late effects.

Shoulder impairment was consistently the most frequent self-reported late effect across all treatment types.

DISCUSSION: Guideline treatments involving mastectomy, and/or axillary lymph node dissection in combination with radiotherapy substantially increased the risk of self-reported late effects, particularly shoulder impairment.