Association between Shoulder Range of Motion and Pain Catastrophizing Scale in Breast Cancer Patients after Surgery

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Prolonged survival period as a result of early diagnosis and treatment in breast cancer has increased the importance of postoperative morbidities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of pain ca­tastrophizing with shoulder pain in patients with decreased shoulder range of motion in the postoperative period. <b><i>Patients and Methods:</i></b> The present study included 53 patients who underwent surgery due to breast cancer. Patients who had bilateral mastectomy, distant metastases, cervical-cranial originated lesions, patients with problems involving one of the shoulders or upper extremities before the operation, and patients with cognitive impairment, heart failure, or low albumin levels (liver parenchyma disease or renal failure) were excluded. Shoulder range of motion was measured in the postoperative period, and two study groups were established: one with a limited shoulder range of motion level and the other with a normal level. Effects of pain catastrophizing and shoulder pain severity on shoulder range of motion limitation were compared between the two groups. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The average age of 53 female patients who had breast surgery was 52.3 ± 10.5 years. In the group with limited shoulder range of motion, the median pain catastrophizing scale value was 27 (range 5–32) and the shoulder pain severity score was 4 (range 0–8), while in the group with normal shoulder range of motion these values were 11 (range 3–39) and 2 (range 0–6), respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In addition, it was found that factors such as surgical treatment modality and postoperative radiotherapy did not significantly affect shoulder range of motion limitation. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Determining the pain catastrophizing scale of patients and controlling pain in the early postoperative period could have positive effects on shoulder range of motion.

The Quality of Life Measurements Following Oncoplastic Breast-conserving Surgery

“…However, we reported that the quality of life and satisfaction assessment was not affected apparently following OBSC regardless of the stage of the disease and the histopathological type. Also, we did not observe any differences among the physical and health functions of the quality of life scores regarding the surgical or operational approaches which was consistent with the literature (22). Larger and multicenter prospective studies are needed to fully reveal the relationship between other histopathological findings of breast tumors and quality of life scores in patients undergoing an OBSC.…”

The Contribution of Cancer-Specific Psychosocial Factors to the Pain Experience in Cancer Survivors

“…The study adds to the growing body of evidence that pain catastrophizing is among the most important psychosocial factors contributing to the pain experience even among cancer survivors. [38][39][40] More than half of the sample had PCS scores above the therapeutic target of 10, and 56% had scores greater than 13. In other studies of noncancer pain, PCS scores greater than 13 to 16 are associated with a higher likelihood of an opioid prescription.…”

Ozone combined with doxorubicin exerts cytotoxic and anticancer effects on Luminal-A subtype human breast cancer cell line

“…The modified radical mastectomy (MRM) and breast-conserving surgery (BCS) are standard treatment modalities in breast cancer surgery, while the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) could also be applied depending on the involvement of axillary lymph nodes. Although the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing, the mortality rates have decreased by developing anticancer therapies due to these developments in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities 12 . Increased efforts are being made to find a novel, effective, and safe anticancer treatment for human breast cancer 13,14 .…”