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Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Published in: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 1/2008

01-11-2008 | Review

How common is fatigue in disease-free breast cancer survivors? A systematic review of the literature

Authors: O. Minton, P. Stone

Published in: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment | Issue 1/2008

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Abstract

Background There is some debate in the literature as to whether fatigue persists in the long term in women who have completed adjuvant breast cancer treatment. Methods A systematic review was conducted in order to characterise and quantify the phenomenon of post treatment fatigue (PTF). Results There was a wide variation in the measures of fatigue used, duration of follow-up and type of comparison made. Overall 18 studies were identified with a follow-up period of between 4 months and 10 years. Fourteen studies demonstrated the presence of continued PTF and/or differences in fatigue levels compared to a reference population up to 5 years after treatment. One short-term study reported no increase in fatigue at 4 months. Three studies (with an average follow up period of longer than 5 years) did not identify overall quality of life differences in breast cancer survivors when compared with a reference population. However there were significant differences in measures of physical functioning and mental fatigue. Conclusion The authors conclude that there is good evidence of PTF occurring up to 5 years after completion of adjuvant therapy.
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Metadata
Title
How common is fatigue in disease-free breast cancer survivors? A systematic review of the literature
Authors
O. Minton
P. Stone
Publication date
01-11-2008
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment / Issue 1/2008
Print ISSN: 0167-6806
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7217
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-007-9831-1

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