IntroductionBreast cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the breast tissue and can spread to other nearby tissues in addition to affecting the entire breast tissue (1). It is the most common cancer worldwide, causing extensive mortality and many complications (2-4). The incidence of breast cancer is globally increasing, especially in developing countries. Notably, about 6 million women with breast cancer were globally identified during 2008-2013 (5). More than 255 000 new cases of breast cancer occurred in the United States in 2017. Meanwhile, the annual incidence of breast cancer is 33 cases per 100 000 people in Iran, and the highest rate has occurred in Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Markazi, and Fars provinces (6).One of the concerns associated with breast cancer is its experience during pregnancy (7). Pregnancy-associated breast cancer refers to cancer that occurs during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or one year after delivery. It is the second most common cancer in pregnancy, which rarely occurs and does not cause many deaths (8,9). Diagnostic and therapeutic interventions during this period are implemented with special considerations. Women with breast cancer are clearly at a more advanced stage of the disease during pregnancy and usually have a poorer prognosis (10,11). One of the major challenges in diagnosis and treatment during this period is maintaining a balance in the aggressive care of these patients and appropriate treatments to maintain the health of the fetus/ baby. Given that the occurrence of this cancer during pregnancy can have adverse effects on the health of the mother, the baby, and the fetus, the current study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the incidence of this type of cancer during pregnancy. Materials and MethodsThis review study aimed at evaluating the relationship between pregnancy-related variables and the risk of breast cancer. This article review focused on all studies performed in this field until 2019. The related studies were selected from Persian and English databases. Iranian databases included SID, Irandoc, and Magiran, and English databases included PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Embase. Keywords were based on Mesh, including breast cancer and pregnancy. The inclusion criterion was accessing the full text of the articles, and the exclusion criterion was conference papers and articles, full-text versions of which were unavailable. ResultsIn general, 161 articles were found in the first stage although they were excluded from the review process at different stages and for scientific reasons. Finally, 83
Objectives: Approximately one-third of women having breast surgery experience neuropathic pain although no study has so far identified its risk factors. It seems that the coronavirus infection increases the likelihood of neuropathic pain through influencing the neuropsychological system. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate factors affecting the severity of neuropathic pain before and after coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in patients who had breast cancer surgery. Materials and Methods: The current descriptive-analytical study was conducted six months before June 4, 2020. In total, 40 women having breast surgery participated in this study. Postoperative neuropathic pain and its influencing factors were evaluated using demographic tools, Spielberger anxiety, and a 36-item short-form health survey for measuring the quality of life (QoL). Finally, data were analyzed by multivariate regression. Results: Neuropathic pain significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mastectomy (P=0.009), removal of lymph nodes (P=0.011), number of radiotherapy sessions (P=0.003), history of chemotherapy (P=0.009), disease stage (P=0.015), hidden anxiety (P=0.005), and explicit anxiety (P=0.001), and all domains of QoL (P<0.05) significantly predicted neuropathic pain. Conclusions: In general, adverse effects of coronavirus pandemic reduced the QoL while increasing anxiety (hidden and explicit), thus leading to an increase in the severity of postoperative neuropathic pain.
Background: Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is one of the risk factors for infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy (due to the weakened immune system). Febrile neutropenia (FN) may be the sole indicator of an underlying infection in these patients. Objectives: Since infection is associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients undergoing chemotherapy, the present study aimed to assess the incidence of FN in neutropenic cancer patients admitted to an oncology ward. Methods: This retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted on 52 patients (selected using the census method) with signs of infection (i.e., FN) hospitalized in Ghazi Tabatabai Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, within 2018 - 2020. The data were collected by a researchermade form and analyzed using descriptive statistics (e.g., frequency, percentage, and mean) and chi-square in SPSS software (version 20). The significance level was considered less than 0.05 Results: The absolute neutrophil count was less than 500 cells/ml in 15.38% of the patients (n = 8). Infection was the cause of FN in 69.23% of the subjects (n = 36). An unknown factor was the cause of infection in 30.77% of the cases. The incidence of all types of infections (i.e., perianal abscess, sepsis, oral infection, cutaneous infection, gastrointestinal infection, pharyngitis, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection) was higher in patients undergoing chemotherapy than that reported for those not receiving chemotherapy. Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy should be aware of infection signs; accordingly, they can visit treatment centers in case of the first symptoms of infection to prevent progression of infection and reduce mortality rates.
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