Chronic pain and its correlates among long-term breast cancer survivors

Chronic pain is a common symptom affecting quality of life for breast cancer survivors. However, its prevalence and correlate factors in long-term breast cancer survivors, particularly Asian women, are understudied. The reported study is to address these knowledge gaps.

We evaluated pain severity and frequency, and their associations with clinical features and lifestyle factors among 3640 5-year breast cancer survivors who participated in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study. Demographic, clinical, and lifestyle information was collected at study enrollment, which occurred 6 months post-diagnosis, and pain was assessed at the 5-year post-diagnosis follow-up survey.

In total, 42% of participants reported experiencing pain. Pain is more prevalent among survivors with low educational attainment or low income. Multivariable polytomous regression analyses showed that pain was positively associated with metastasis or recurrence (moderate pain OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.45, 3.26, frequent pain OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.37, 2.70), triple negative status (infrequent pain OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.78), obesity (frequent pain OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.31), and multiple comorbidities. Exercise (OR: 0.65, 95%: 0.49, 0.88), chemotherapy (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.849), and HER2-positive and ER/PR-negative status (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.97) were inversely associated with moderate pain.

Chronic pain is highly prevalent among long-term breast cancer survivors in China and was associated with obesity, physical inactivity, and several clinical factors.

This study highlights the importance of promoting weight control and exercise to alleviate chronic pain.