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Prevalence and risk factors associated with pain 21 months following surgery for breast cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated (1) the prevalence of pain following breast cancer treatment including moderate-to-severe persistent pain and (2) the association of risk factors, present 1 month following surgery, with pain at 21 months following surgery. This information may aid the development of clinical guidelines for early pain assessment and intervention in this population.

Methods

This study was a retrospective analysis of core and breast modules of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaire from 121 participants with early breast cancer. The relationships between potential risk factors (subscales derived from the EORTC), measured within 1 month following surgery, and pain at 21 months following surgery were analysed using univariable and multi-variable logistic regression.

Results

At 21 months following surgery, 46.3 % of participants reported pain, with 24 % categorised as having moderate or severe pain. Prevalence of pain was similar between those who underwent axillary lymph node dissection versus biopsy. Univariate logistic regression identified baseline pain (odds ratio (95 % CI): 2.7 (1.1 to 6.4)); baseline arm symptoms (11.2 (1.4 to 89.8)); emotional function (0.4 (0.1 to 0.8)) and insomnia (2.3 (1.1 to 4.7) as significantly associated with pain at 21 months. In multi-variable analysis, two factors were independently associated with pain at 21 months—baseline arm symptoms and emotional subscale scores.

Conclusion

Pain is a significant problem following breast cancer treatment in both the early post-operative period and months following surgery. Risk factors for pain at long-term follow-up included arm symptoms and higher emotional subscale scores at baseline.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the authors of the original paper from which this data was obtained, SL Kilbreath, KM Refshauge, JM Beith, LC Ward, MJ Lee, JM Simson and R Hansen.

The original study was supported by the NSW Cancer Council.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Niamh Moloney, Jennie Man Wai Sung, Sharon Kilbreath & Elizabeth Dylke

  2. Department of Health Professions, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Ground Floor, 75 Talavera Road, Sydney, NSW, 2113, Australia

    Niamh Moloney

Authors
  1. Niamh Moloney
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  2. Jennie Man Wai Sung
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  3. Sharon Kilbreath
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  4. Elizabeth Dylke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Niamh Moloney.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval was provided by each of the three participating hospitals and from the University of Sydney. The original study protocol [17] is registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN012606000050550). Written informed consent was provided by all participants.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Moloney, N., Sung, J.M.W., Kilbreath, S. et al. Prevalence and risk factors associated with pain 21 months following surgery for breast cancer. Support Care Cancer 24, 4533–4539 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3292-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3292-1

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