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Supportive Care in Cancer

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01-02-2015 | Original Article

Musculoskeletal pain and health-related quality of life among breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors

Authors: Temitope Olufade, Lisa Gallicchio, Ryan MacDonald, Kathy J. Helzlsouer

Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer | Issue 2/2015

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to examine the associations between musculoskeletal pain and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) among breast cancer patients on aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and women without a history of breast cancer.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 68 breast cancer patients on AIs for an average of 3.5 years and 137 postmenopausal women without a history of cancer. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed using a 10-cm visual analog scale; HR-QOL was examined using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) health survey. Linear regression was used to estimate the associations between pain and HR-QOL in both groups.

Results

Approximately 64 % of the breast cancer patients and women in the comparison group reported musculoskeletal pain. Among women with breast cancer, those with pain had significantly lower HR-QOL scores in the physical (52.2 vs. 42.6; p < 0.001) and mental (52.7 vs. 45.5; p = 0.01) component summary scores compared with those without pain. In the comparison group, pain was associated with significantly lower scores in the physical (55.4 vs. 46.0; p < 0.001), but not the mental, component summary score (52.1 vs. 52.4; p = 0.82). The significant associations between pain and HR-QOL persisted after confounder adjustment in both groups. Among women with similar severity of pain, breast cancer patients reported significantly lower HR-QOL in the mental summary component compared with the women in the comparison group.

Conclusions

Among breast cancer patients, musculoskeletal pain adversely affects both mental and physical components of HR-QOL. Preventing or treating AI-associated musculoskeletal pain may improve overall HR-QOL among breast cancer patients treated with AIs.

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Title: Musculoskeletal pain and health-related quality of life among breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors
Authors: Temitope Olufade
Lisa Gallicchio
Ryan MacDonald
Kathy J. Helzlsouer
Publication date: 01-02-2015
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Supportive Care in Cancer / Issue 2/2015
Print ISSN: 0941-4355
Electronic ISSN: 1433-7339
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2364-3

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