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International Journal of Clinical Oncology

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01-04-2013 | Original Article

Frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome in breast cancer patients

Authors: Nuray Akkaya, Nilgün Simsir Atalay, Selin Taflan Selcuk, Hakan Alkan, Necdet Catalbas, Füsun Sahin

Published in: International Journal of Clinical Oncology | Issue 2/2013

Abstract

Background

We aimed to determine the frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) in operated breast cancer patients and to research the relationship between FM and the severity of fatigue and quality of life in these breast cancer patients.

Methods

The demographic data of 101 operated breast cancer patients were recorded. The patients who had pain were then classified as having regional pain (RP), widespread pain without FM (WP), and widespread pain with FM (WFM). The FM diagnosis was based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. The severity of fatigue was evaluated with the Brief Fatigue Inventory, the disease impact was evaluated with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and the quality of life was evaluated with the European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer questionnaire Quality of Life-C30 (EORTC-QoL-C30).

Results

There was no pain in 38 (37.6%) patients, whereas there was pain in 63 (62.4%) patients (N = 42, 41.6% had RP, N = 21, 20.8% had WP). Ten (9.9%) of the entire patient cohort were diagnosed as having FM according to the ACR criteria. There were no differences among the 3 groups in respect to demographic characteristics when patients were classified as RP (N = 42), WP (N = 11), and WFM (N = 10) groups. While there were negative correlations between the FIQ and EORTC-QoL-C30-function score (r = −0.727) and EORTC-QoL-C30-global score (r = −0.488), there was a positive correlation between the FIQ and EORTC-QoL-C30-symptom score (r = 0.726).

Conclusion

We note that the frequency of FM in the operated breast cancer patients in this study was higher than that reported in normal populations in the literature. Also, we found that the presence of FM had negative effects on the quality of life of the breast cancer patients. Accordingly, in the evaluation of widespread pain and complaints of fatigue in long-surviving breast cancer patients, after metastatic disease is excluded, the probability of FM should be kept in mind, so that appropriate treatment can be initiated to improve their functional status and quality of life.

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Title: Frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome in breast cancer patients
Authors: Nuray Akkaya
Nilgün Simsir Atalay
Selin Taflan Selcuk
Hakan Alkan
Necdet Catalbas
Füsun Sahin
Publication date: 01-04-2013
Publisher: Springer Japan
Published in: International Journal of Clinical Oncology / Issue 2/2013
Print ISSN: 1341-9625
Electronic ISSN: 1437-7772
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-012-0377-9

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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