Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Breast cancer survivors with pain: an examination of the relationships between body mass index, physical activity, and symptom burden

  • Research
  • Published:
Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Overweight and obesity are common for breast cancer survivors and associated with high symptom burden (i.e., pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms). Physical activity may protect breast cancer survivors with higher body mass indexes (BMI) from increased symptoms. However, the role of physical activity in buffering the relationship between higher BMI and greater symptoms is unclear.

Methods

Baseline data from a randomized trial investigating Pain Coping Skills Training among breast cancer survivors (N = 327) with pain were used to examine the relationship between self-reported BMI (kg/m2) and physical activity level (Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity; suboptimal vs. optimal) with pain (Brief Pain Inventory; severity and interference), fatigue (PROMIS-Fatigue short form), and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale). Analyses were conducted in SPSS. Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 1) assessed whether physical activity moderated the relationship between BMI and symptoms.

Results

Lower BMI (B = .06, p < .01) and optimal physical activity (B =  − .69, p < .01) were independently associated with lower pain interference. Lower BMI was also associated with lower pain severity (B = .04, p < .001). Neither BMI nor physical activity was associated with fatigue or depressive symptoms. Physical activity did not moderate the relationship between BMI and symptoms.

Conclusions

Among breast cancer survivors experiencing pain, higher BMI and being less physically active were related to greater pain (i.e., severity and/or interference). Physical activity did not buffer the relationships between BMI and pain, fatigue, and depressive symptoms, suggesting that physical activity alone may not be sufficient to influence the strength of the relationships between BMI and symptoms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Giaquinto AN, Sung H, Miller KD, Kramer JL, Newman LA, Minihan A, Jemal A, Siegel RL (2022) Breast cancer statistics 2020. CA: A Cancer J Clin 72:524–541. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Greenlee H, Shi Z, Sardo Molmenti CL, Rundle A, Tsai WY (2016) Trends in obesity prevalence in adults with a history of cancer: results from the US National Health Interview Survey, 1997 to 2014. J Clin Oncol 34:3133–3140. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2016.66.4391

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. DeSantis CE, Ma J, Gaudet MM, Newman LA, Miller KD, Goding Sauer A, Jemal A, Siegel RL (2019) Breast cancer statistics, 2019. CA: A Cancer J Clin 69:438–451. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kroenke CH, Chen WY, Rosner B, Holmes MD (2005) Weight, weight gain, and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. J Clin Oncol 23:1370–1378. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2005.01.079

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ligibel JA, Basen-Engquist K, Bea JW (2019) Weight management and physical activity for breast cancer prevention and control. American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Annual Meeting 39:e22-e33. https://doi.org/10.1200/edbk_237423

  6. Doege D, Thong MSY, Koch-Gallenkamp L, Jansen L, Bertram H, Eberle A, Holleczek B, Pritzkuleit R, Waldmann A, Zeissig SR, Brenner H, Arndt V (2020) Age-specific prevalence and determinants of depression in long-term breast cancer survivors compared to female population controls. Cancer Med 9:8713–8721. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3476

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Connor AE, Baumgartner RN, Pinkston CM, Boone SD, Baumgartner KB (2016) Obesity, ethnicity, and quality of life among breast cancer survivors and women without breast cancer: the long-term quality of life follow-up study. Cancer Causes Control 27:115–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-015-0688-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Mao H, Bao T, Shen X, Li Q, Seluzicki C, Im E-O, Mao JJ (2018) Prevalence and risk factors for fatigue among breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitors. Eur J Cancer 101:47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2018.06.009

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Schmidt ME, Chang-Claude J, Seibold P, Vrieling A, Heinz J, Flesch-Janys D, Steindorf K (2015) Determinants of long-term fatigue in breast cancer survivors: results of a prospective patient cohort study. Psychooncology 24:40–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3581

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Forsythe LP, Alfano CM, George SM, McTiernan A, Baumgartner KB, Bernstein L, Ballard-Barbash R (2013) Pain in long-term breast cancer survivors: the role of body mass index, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Breast Cancer Res Treat 137:617–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-012-2335-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ding YY, Yao P, Wu L, Han ZK, Hong T, Zhu YQ, Li HX (2017) Body mass index and persistent pain after breast cancer surgery: findings from the women’s healthy eating and living study and a meta-analysis. Oncotarget 8:43332–43343. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.17948

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Cox-Martin E, Trahan LH, Cox MG, Dougherty PM, Lai EA, Novy DM (2017) Disease burden and pain in obese cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Support Care Cancer 25:1873–1879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3571-5

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Inglis JE, Janelsins MC, Culakova E, Mustian KM, Lin P-J, Kleckner IR, Peppone LJ (2020) Longitudinal assessment of the impact of higher body mass index on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer 28:1411–1418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04953-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Sestak I, Cuzick J, Sapunar F, Eastell R, Forbes JF, Bianco AR, Buzdar AU (2008) Risk factors for joint symptoms in patients enrolled in the ATAC trial: a retrospective, exploratory analysis. Lancet Oncol 9:866–872. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(08)70182-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Imayama I, Alfano CM, Neuhouser ML, George SM, Wilder Smith A, Baumgartner RN, Baumgartner KB, Bernstein L, Wang CY, Duggan C, Ballard-Barbash R, McTiernan A (2013) Weight, inflammation, cancer-related symptoms and health related quality of life among breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 140:159–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-013-2594-y

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Maass S, Boerman LM, Verhaak PFM, Du J, de Bock GH, Berendsen AJ (2019) Long-term psychological distress in breast cancer survivors and their matched controls: a cross-sectional study. Maturitas 130:6–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2019.09.003

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Donofry SD, Lesnovskaya A, Drake JA, Ripperger HS, Gilmore AD, Donahue PT, Crisafio ME, Grove G, Gentry AL, Sereika SM, Bender CM, Erickson KI (2022) Obesity, psychological distress, and resting state connectivity of the hippocampus and amygdala among women with early-stage breast cancer. Front Hum Neurosci 16:848028. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.848028

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Milaneschi Y, Simmons WK, van Rossum EFC, Penninx BW (2019) Depression and obesity: evidence of shared biological mechanisms. Mol Psychiatry 24:18–33. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0017-5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Milano W, Ambrosio P, Carizzone F, De Biasio V, Di Munzio W, Foia MG, Capasso A (2020) Depression and obesity: analysis of common biomarkers. Diseases 8:23

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Vance V, Mourtzakis M, Hanning R (2019) Relationships between weight change and physical and psychological distress in early-stage breast cancer survivors. Cancer Nurs 42:E43-e50. https://doi.org/10.1097/ncc.0000000000000612

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Syrowatka A, Motulsky A, Kurteva S, Hanley JA, Dixon WG, Meguerditchian AN, Tamblyn R (2017) Predictors of distress in female breast cancer survivors: a systematic review. Breast Cancer Res Treat 165:229–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-017-4290-9

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Campbell KL, Winters-stone KM, Wiskeman J, May AM, Schwartz AL, Courneya KS, Zucker DS, Matthes CE, Ligibel JA, Gerber LH, Morris GS, Patel AV, Hue TF, Perna FM, Schmitz KH (2019) Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: consensus statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable. Med Sci Sports Exerc 51:2375–2390. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000002116

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. De Groef A, Geraerts I, Demeyer H, Van der Gucht E, Dams L, de Kinkelder C, Dukers-van Althuis S, Van Kampen M, Devoogdt N (2018) Physical activity levels after treatment for breast cancer: two-year follow-up. The Breast 40:23–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2018.04.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Smith SG, Chagpar AB (2010) Adherence to physical activity guidelines in breast cancer survivors. Am Surg 76:962–965. https://doi.org/10.1177/000313481007600929

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Brown NI, Pekmezi DW, Oster RA, Courneya KS, McAuley E, Ehlers DK, Phillips SM, Anton P, Rogers LQ (2023) Relationships between obesity, exercise preferences, and related social cognitive theory variables among breast cancer survivors. Nutrients 15:5. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Doré I, Plante A, Peck SS, Bedrossian N, Sabiston CM (2022) Physical activity and sedentary time: associations with fatigue, pain, and depressive symptoms over 4 years post-treatment among breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer 30:785–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06469-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Trinh L, Amireault S, Lacombe J, Sabiston CM (2015) Physical and psychological health among breast cancer survivors: interactions with sedentary behavior and physical activity. Psychooncology 24:1279–1285. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3872

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Tian L, Lu HJ, Lin L, Hu Y (2016) Effects of aerobic exercise on cancer-related fatigue: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Support Care Cancer 24:969–983. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2953-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Sylvester BD, Ahmed R, Amireault S, Sabiston CM (2017) Changes in light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity physical activity and changes in depressive symptoms in breast cancer survivors: a prospective observational study. Support Care Cancer 25:3305–3312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3745-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Brown JC, Sarwer DB, Troxel AB, Sturgeon K, DeMichele AM, Denlinger CS, Schmitz KH (2021) A randomized trial of exercise and diet on body composition in survivors of breast cancer with overweight or obesity. Breast Cancer Res Treat 189:145–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-021-06284-7

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Cox CE (2017) Role of physical activity for weight loss and weight maintenance. Diabetes Spectr 30:157–160. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds17-0013

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Makari-Judson G, Braun B, Jerry DJ, Mertens WC (2014) Weight gain following breast cancer diagnosis: implication and proposed mechanisms. World J Clin Oncol 5:272–282. https://doi.org/10.5306/wjco.v5.i3.272

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Raghavendra A, Sinha AK, Valle-Goffin J, Shen Y, Tripathy D, Barcenas CH (2018) Determinants of weight gain during adjuvant endocrine therapy and association of such weight gain with recurrence in long-term breast cancer survivors. Clin Breast Cancer 18:e7–e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clbc.2017.11.006

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Vance V, Mourtzakis M, McCargar L, Hanning R (2011) Weight gain in breast cancer survivors: prevalence, pattern and health consequences. Obes Rev 12:282–294. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00805.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Sabiston CM, Lacombe J, Faulkner G, Jones J, Trinh L (2018) Profiling sedentary behavior in breast cancer survivors: links with depression symptoms during the early survivorship period. Psychooncology 27:569–575. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4520

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kelleher SA, Dorfman CS, Plumb Vilardaga JC, Majestic C, Winger J, Gandhi V, Nunez C, Van Denburg A, Shelby RA, Reed SD, Murphy S, Davidian M, Laber EB, Kimmick GG, Westbrook KW, Abernethy AP, Somers TJ (2017) Optimizing delivery of a behavioral pain intervention in cancer patients using a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial SMART. Contemp Clin Trials 57:51–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2017.04.001

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Serlin RC, Mendoza TR, Nakamura Y, Edwards KR, Cleeland CS (1995) When is cancer pain mild, moderate or severe? Grading pain severity by its interference with function. Pain 61:277–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3959(94)00178-h

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Topolski TD, LoGerfo J, Patrick DL, Williams B, Walwick J, Patrick MMB (2006) The Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA) among older adults. Prev Chronic Dis 3(4):A118

  39. Achttien RJ, van Lieshout J, Wensing M, Nijhuis-van der Sanden M, Staal JB (2020) The decline in physical activity in aging people is not modified by gender or the presence of cardiovascular disease. Eur J Public Health 30:333–339. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz159

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Sander AP, Wilson J, Izzo N, Mountford SA, Hayes KW (2012) Factors that affect decisions about physical activity and exercise in survivors of breast cancer: a qualitative study. Phys Ther 92:525–536. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20110115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Cleeland CS, Ryan KM (1994) Pain assessment: global use of the Brief Pain Inventory. Ann Acad Med Singap 23:129–138

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Wyrwich KW, Beaton D, Cleeland CS, Farrar JT, Haythornthwaite JA, Jensen MP, Kerns RD, Ader DN, Brandenburg N, Burke LB, Cella D, Chandler J, Cowan P, Dimitrova R, Dionne R, Hertz S, Jadad AR, Katz NP, Kehlet H, Kramer LD, Manning DC, McCormick C, McDermott MP, McQuay HJ, Patel S, Porter L, Quessy S, Rappaport BA, Rauschkolb C, Revicki DA, Rothman M, Schmader KE, Stacey BR, Stauffer JW, von Stein T, White RE, Witter J, Zavisic S (2008) Interpreting the clinical importance of treatment outcomes in chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. J Pain 9:105–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2007.09.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Cella D, Lai J-S, Jensen SE, Christodoulou C, Junghaenel DU, Reeve BB, Stone AA (2016) PROMIS fatigue item bank had clinical validity across diverse chronic conditions. J Clin Epidemiol 73:128–134

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. HealthMeasures (2022) Fatigue Scoring Manual: a brief guide to scoring the PROMIS Fatigue instruments. Northwestern University. https://www.healthmeasures.net/images/PROMIS/manuals/Scoring_Manual_Only/PROMIS_Fatigue_User_Manual_and_Scoring_Instructions_08Sept2023. Accessed 26 Sept 2023

  45. Radloff LS (1977) The CES-D scale a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psych Meas 1:385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Hann D, Winter K, Jacobsen P (1999) Measurement of depressive symptoms in cancer patients: evaluation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). J Psychosom Res 46:437–443

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Lewinsohn PM, Seeley JR, Roberts RE, Allen NB (1997) Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a screening instrument for depression among community-residing older adults. Psychol Aging 12:277–287. https://doi.org/10.1037//0882-7974.12.2.277

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. HealthMeasures (2023) PROMIS score cut points. Northwestern University. https://www.healthmeasures.net/score-and-interpret/interpret-scores/promis/promis-score-cut-points. Accessed 26 Sept 2023

  49. Shi Q, Mendoza TR, Dueck AC, Ma H, Zhang J, Qian Y, Bhowmik D, Cleeland CS (2017) Determination of mild, moderate, and severe pain interference in patients with cancer. Pain 158:1108–1112. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000890

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Hayes AF (2022) Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression based approach. Guilford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  51. Abrahams HJG, Gielissen MFM, Schmits IC, Verhagen CAHHVM, Rovers MM, Knoop H (2016) Risk factors, prevalence, and course of severe fatigue after breast cancer treatment: a meta-analysis involving 12 327 breast cancer survivors. Ann Oncol 27:965–974. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdw099

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Hu X, Chehal PK, Kaplan C, Krukowski RA, Lan RH, Stepanski E, Schwartzberg L, Vidal G, Graetz I (2021) Characterization of clinical symptoms by race among women with early-stage, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer before starting chemotherapy. JAMA Netw Open 4:e2112076. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.12076

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Bower JE, Ganz PA, Desmond KA, Rowland JH, Meyerowitz BE, Belin TR (2000) Fatigue in breast cancer survivors: occurrence, correlates, and impact on quality of life. J Clin Oncol 18:743–743. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2000.18.4.743

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Bao T, Seidman A, Li Q, Seluzicki C, Blinder V, Meghani SH, Farrar JT, Mao JJ (2018) Living with chronic pain: perceptions of breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 169:133–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-018-4670-9

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Gallaway MS, Townsend JS, Shelby D, Puckett MC (2020) Pain among cancer survivors. Prev Chronic Dis 17:E54. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190367

  56. Avis NE, Levine BJ, Case LD, Naftalis EZ, Van Zee KJ (2015) Trajectories of depressive symptoms following breast cancer diagnosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 24:1789–1795. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.Epi-15-0327

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Reich M, Lesur A, Perdrizet-Chevallier C (2008) Depression, quality of life and breast cancer: a review of the literature. Breast Cancer Res Treat 110:9–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-007-9706-5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Leysen L, Beckwée D, Nijs J, Pas R, Bilterys T, Vermeir S, Adriaenssens N (2017) Risk factors of pain in breast cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Support Care Cancer 25:3607–3643. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3824-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Shaikh H, Bradhurst P, Ma LX, Tan SY, Egger SJ, Vardy JL (2020) Body weight management in overweight and obese breast cancer survivors. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012110.pub2

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Welch WA, Ehlers D, Gavin KL, Aguinaga S, Cottrell A, Nielsen A, Solk P, McAuley E, Phillips SM (2019) Effects of reallocating sedentary time with physical activity on quality of life indicators in breast cancer survivors. Psychooncology 28:1430–1437. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5091

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  61. Lahart IM, Metsios GS, Nevill AM, Carmichael AR (2018) Physical activity for women with breast cancer after adjuvant therapy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 1:011292. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011292.pub2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Mandelblatt JS, Zhai W, Ahn J, Small BJ, Ahles TA, Carroll JE, Denduluri N, Dilawari A, Extermann M, Graham D, Hurria A, Isaacs C, Jacobsen PB, Jim HSL, Luta G, McDonald BC, Patel SK, Root JC, Saykin AJ, Tometich DB, Zhou X, Cohen HJ (2020) Symptom burden among older breast cancer survivors: the Thinking and Living With Cancer (TLC) study. Cancer 126:1183–1192. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.32663

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Soares Falcetta F, de Araújo Vianna Träsel H, de Almeida FK, Rangel Ribeiro Falcetta M, Falavigna M, Dornelles Rosa D (2018) Effects of physical exercise after treatment of early breast cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 170:455–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-018-4786-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Cella D, Choi S, Garcia S, Cook KF, Rosenbloom S, Lai JS, Tatum DS, Gershon R (2014) Setting standards for severity of common symptoms in oncology using the PROMIS item banks and expert judgment. Qual Life Res 23:2651–2661. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0732-6

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  65. Banthia R, Malcarne VL, Ko CM, Varni JW, Sadler GR (2009) Fatigued breast cancer survivors: the role of sleep quality, depressed mood, stage and age. Psychol Health 24:965–980. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440802110831

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  66. Champion VL, Wagner LI, Monahan PO, Daggy J, Smith L, Cohee A, Ziner KW, Haase JE, Miller KD, Pradhan K, Unverzagt FW, Cella D, Ansari B, Sledge GW Jr (2014) Comparison of younger and older breast cancer survivors and age-matched controls on specific and overall quality of life domains. Cancer 120:2237–2246. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.28737

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Swen M, Mann A, Paxton RJ, Dean LT (2017) Do cancer-related gatigue and physical activity vary by age for Black women with a history of breast cancer? Prev Chronic Dis 14:E122. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.170128

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  68. Courneya KS, Karvinen KH, Campbell KL, Pearcey RG, Dundas G, Capstick V, Tonkin KS (2005) Associations among exercise, body weight, and quality of life in a population-based sample of endometrial cancer survivors. Gynecol Oncol 97:422–430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygyno.2005.01.07

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Basen-Engquist K, Scruggs S, Jhingran A, Bodurka DC, Lu K, Ramondetta L, Hughes D, Carmack Taylor C (2009) Physical activity and obesity in endometrial cancer survivors: associations with pain, fatigue, and physical functioning. Am J Obstet Gynecol 200:288.e281-288.e288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2008.10.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Somers TJ, Blumenthal JA, Dorfman CS, Huffman KM, Edmond SN, Miller SN, Wren AA, Caldwell D, Keefe FJ (2022) Effects of a weight and pain management program in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with obesity: a randomized controlled pilot investigation. J Clin Rheumatol 28:7–13. https://doi.org/10.1097/rhu.0000000000001793

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Somers TJ, Blumenthal JA, Guilak F, Kraus VB, Schmitt DO, Babyak MA, Craighead LW, Caldwell DS, Rice JR, McKee DC, Shelby RA, Campbell LC, Pells JJ, Sims EL, Queen R, Carson JW, Connelly M, Dixon KE, LaCaille LJ, Huebner JL, Rejeski JW, Keefe FJ (2012) Pain coping skills training and lifestyle behavioral weight management in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled study. Pain 153:1199–1209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2012.02.023

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  72. Dorfman CS, Somers TJ, Shelby RA, Winger JG, Patel ML, Kimmick G, Craighead L, Keefe FJ (2022) Development, feasibility, and acceptability of a behavioral weight and symptom management intervention for breast cancer survivors and intimate partners. J Cancer Rehabil 5:7–16. https://doi.org/10.48252/jcr57

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  73. Choi KW, Somers TJ, Babyak MA, Sikkema KJ, Blumenthal JA, Keefe FJ (2014) The relationship between pain and eating among overweight and obese individuals with osteoarthritis: an ecological momentary study. Pain Res Manage 19:e159–e163. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/598382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Yeter K, Rock CL, Pakiz B, Bardwell WA, Nichols JF, Wilfley DE (2006) Depressive symptoms, eating psychopathology, and physical activity in obese breast cancer survivors. Psychooncology 15:453–462. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.974

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA202779) to Tamara Somers. The work of Caroline S. Dorfman, Ph.D., was supported, in part, by NIH/NCI K08CA245107.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Caroline S. Dorfman, Hannah M. Fisher, Sarah A. Kelleher, Joseph G. Winger, Shannon N. Miller & Tamara J. Somers

  2. Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Caroline S. Dorfman, Samantha Thomas, Sarah A. Kelleher, Joseph G. Winger, Nia S. Mitchell & Tamara J. Somers

  3. Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Samantha Thomas

  4. Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Nia S. Mitchell

Authors
  1. Caroline S. Dorfman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hannah M. Fisher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Samantha Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sarah A. Kelleher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Joseph G. Winger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Nia S. Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Shannon N. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Tamara J. Somers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Tamara Somers designed the parent study from which data for this manuscript was obtained. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Caroline Dorfman, Hannah Fisher, Samantha Thomas, Tamara Somers, and Shannon Miller. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Caroline Dorfman, Hannah Fisher, Sarah Kelleher, Joseph Winger, and Tamara Somers. All authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Caroline S. Dorfman.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Duke University (Pro00070823) and has been registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02791646).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was provided by all individuals participating in this study.

Competing interests

The author have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 17 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dorfman, C.S., Fisher, H.M., Thomas, S. et al. Breast cancer survivors with pain: an examination of the relationships between body mass index, physical activity, and symptom burden. Support Care Cancer 31, 604 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08064-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08064-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation