Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome: A Retrospective Cohort Study About The Relationship of Histopathological Type and Comorbidities

Abstract

Although many risk factors that cause postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) have been searched, in literature, no study was found on the pathological type and the presence of additional diseases. Its aimed to evaluate the frequency of PMPS and probability of being a risk factor of pathological type and the presence of additional diseases in whom underwent mastectomy for breast cancer. Methods:The data of 392 patients who underwent mastectomy for breast cancer between the years 2008 and 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, surgery type, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, presence of additional diseases, the pathologic diagnosis of the tumor, axillary dissection, number of total and metastatic lymph nodes, application status of the patients to Algology Clinic, VAS, Gabapentin, and/or Pregabalin usage were investigated. Gabapentin and/or Pregabalin usage was accepted as the presence of PMPS.Results: In our study, PMPS incidence was 24.4%. Statistically significant difference was detected between older age (>50; 72.6%) and hypertension (33.3%) with PMPS. The type of surgery, axillary dissection, number of total and metastatic lymph nodes, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and the pathological diagnosis of tumor were not determined as risk factors. Conclusion:Our determination of hypertension as a risk factor for PMPS with advanced age suggests that there is a need for prospective studies that address advanced age and hypertension. In addition, due to the retrospective study feature, an equal number of subgroups could not be made for all pathological types. Therefore, we think that this relationship can be revealed more clearly with prospective studies in which every pathological diagnosis is grouped equally.