Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer at Early Postoperative Period: Relationship to Shoulder Pain, Handgrip Strength, Disability, and Emotional Status

Abstract

Objective: To assess quality of life (QOL) of patients operated for breast cancer at early periods and to investigate its relationship to pain, handgrip strength (HS), disability, and emotional status. Material and Methods: Ninety-three female patients, operated unilaterally for breast cancer, were included. QOL by Short Form-36 (SF-36), depression by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), shoulder pain intensity (rest-movement) by visual analog scale (VAS), handgrip strength (HS) by handheld dynamometer, and disability by Shoulder Pain-Disability Index (SPDI) and Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ) were evaluated. Results: The mean age of patients was 47.55±8.79 years, and mean time since surgery was 9.52±5.44 months. Shoulder pain during movementrest was 76.3%-41.9%, and depression of 32.2% was detected. The most affected QOL parameters were found to be general health and functional role. There were negative correlations between SF-36 subgroups scores and pain, SPDI, SDQ, and BDI scores (p<0.05). HS was positively correlated with physical function and physical role (p<0.05). Conclusion: Rehabilitation of patients who undergo breast cancer surgery should be focused on QOL and emotional status. The improvement of shoulder pain, disability, emotional status, and HS may enhance the QOL in these patients at early periods. Key Words: Breast cancer, quality of life, depression, handgrip strength, pain, disability Özet Amaç: Meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren hastalarda, erken dönem yaşam kalitesini (YK) değerlendirmek, YK'nın omuz ağrısı, el kavrama gücü (el KG), dizabilite ve emosyonel durum ile ilişkisini araştırmak. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmaya, tek taraflı meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren 93 kadın hasta dahil edildi. Yaşam kalitesini Kısa Form-36 (KF-36), depresyon düzeyi Beck Depresyon Ölçeği (BDÖ), opere edilen tarafta omuz ağrısı (istirahat, hareket), vizüel analog skala (VAS), el KG el dinamometresi, dizabilite Omuz Ağrı Özürlülük İndeksi (OAÖİ) ve Omuz Özürlülük Sorgulaması (OÖS) ile değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Hastaların yaş ortalaması 47,55±8,79 yıl, operasyon sonrası geçen süre ortalaması 9,52±5,44 ay idi. Hastaların %76,3'ünde hareket, %41,9'unda istirahat sırasında omuz ağrısı, %32,3'ünde ise depresyon tespit edildi. En fazla etkilenen QOL parametresinin, genel sağlık ve fonksiyonel rol olduğu saptandı. KF-36 alt-parametre skorları ile omuz ağrı VAS, OAÖİ, OÖS ve BDÖ skorları arasında negatif korelasyon vardı (p<0,05). El KG ile fiziksel fonksiyon ve fiziksel rol pozitif koreleydi (p<0,05). Sonuç: Meme kanseri cerrahisi geçiren hastaların rehabilitasyonu, YK ve emosyonel durum odaklı olmalıdır. Omuz ağrısı, dizabilite, emosyonel durum ve el KG'nin iyileştirilmesi bu hastalarda YK'yı arttırabilir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Meme kanseri, yaşam kalitesi, depresyon, el kavrama gücü, ağrı, dizabilite

Association of Handgrip Strength with Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The five articles included in this review (Brandini et al, 2019;Buyukakincak et al, 2014;Esteban-Simón et al, 2021;Kaya et al, 2010;Koca et al, 2020) have a cross-sectional design and involved a total of 587 women BC survivors who were mostly recruited from Turkey (Buyukakincak et al, 2014;Kaya et al, 2010;Koca et al, 2020) with a mean age >50 years. The characteristics of the studies are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…Of the studies included, only the study by (Buyukakincak et al, 2014) evaluated patients in the immediate postoperative period of mastectomy for BC. The other studies included patients who were in adjuvant treatment or had concluded systemic treatments for cancer.…”

“…The performance of bilateral mastectomy was an exclusion criterion for most studies (Brandini da Silva et al, 2019;Buyukakincak et al, 2014;Kaya et al, 2010;Koca et al, 2020). In the study by (Esteban-Simón et al, 2021) there was no information regarding this exclusion criterion.…”

Examination of the relationship between upper limb function, posture and quality of life in patients with and without lymphedema after breast cancer surgery

“…Breast conserving surgeries involving the axillary region, and partial or total mastectomy surgeries are of great importance in the treatment of the breast cancer (3,4). However, as a result of these methods some complications such as pain, upper limb dysfunction, decreased range of motion, lymphedema and loss of muscle strength in upper limb can arise following treatment (5,6,7).…”

Relationship of Hand Grip Strength on The Upper Extremity Function, Activities of Daily Living and Physical Activity Level ın Patients with Postmastectomy Lymphedema: A Pilot Study

“…Breast cancer-related lymphedema is one of the most stressful symptoms and one of the most common complications for individuals due to its prognosis (Sakorafas et al 2006). Although improvements in treatment increase survival in breast cancer, shoulder dysfunction associated with upper extremity functions, upper extremity muscle weakness, and lymphedema are observed in patients after treatment (Lee et al, 2001, Radina et al 2004Gary, 2007;Büyükakıncak et al 2014). Voogd et al reported that women with lymphedema most frequently experience problems with the upper extremity (Voogd et al 2003).…”