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Chronic pain and its correlates among long-term breast cancer survivors

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Abstract

Purpose

Chronic pain is a common symptom affecting quality of life for breast cancer survivors. However, its prevalence and correlate factors in long-term breast cancer survivors, particularly Asian women, are understudied. The reported study is to address these knowledge gaps.

Methods

We evaluated pain severity and frequency, and their associations with clinical features and lifestyle factors among 3640 5-year breast cancer survivors who participated in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study. Demographic, clinical, and lifestyle information was collected at study enrollment, which occurred 6 months post-diagnosis, and pain was assessed at the 5-year post-diagnosis follow-up survey.

Results

In total, 42% of participants reported experiencing pain. Pain is more prevalent among survivors with low educational attainment or low income. Multivariable polytomous regression analyses showed that pain was positively associated with metastasis or recurrence (moderate pain OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.45, 3.26, frequent pain OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.37, 2.70), triple negative status (infrequent pain OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.78), obesity (frequent pain OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.31), and multiple comorbidities. Exercise (OR: 0.65, 95%: 0.49, 0.88), chemotherapy (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.849), and HER2-positive and ER/PR-negative status (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.97) were inversely associated with moderate pain.

Conclusions

Chronic pain is highly prevalent among long-term breast cancer survivors in China and was associated with obesity, physical inactivity, and several clinical factors.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

This study highlights the importance of promoting weight control and exercise to alleviate chronic pain.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank the study participants and research team members for their dedication to the study.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DAMD 17–02-1–0607 to Xiao-Ou Shu); the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number (R01 CA118229 to Xiao-Ou Shu), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (81402734 to Pingping Bao). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Michelle Yin, Cong Wang & Xiao-Ou Shu

  2. Department of Cancer Control and Prevention, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Gu & Pingping Bao

  3. Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt University Institute of Medicine and Public Health, 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 600, Nashville, TN, 37203-1738, USA

    Xiao-Ou Shu

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  1. Michelle Yin
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Correspondence to Xiao-Ou Shu.

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Yin, M., Wang, C., Gu, K. et al. Chronic pain and its correlates among long-term breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 17, 460–467 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-022-01241-9

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