Changes in Pain Sensitivity in Treatment for Breast Cancer: A 12-Month Follow-Up Case Series

Laura Lorenzo-Gallego, Beatriz Arranz-Martín, Helena Romay-Barrero, Virginia Prieto-Gómez, Enrique Lluch and María Torres-Lacomba
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Laura Lorenzo-Gallego: Physiotherapy in Women’s Health (FPSM) Research Group, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28805 Madrid, Spain
Beatriz Arranz-Martín: Physiotherapy in Women’s Health (FPSM) Research Group, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28805 Madrid, Spain
Helena Romay-Barrero: Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Virginia Prieto-Gómez: Physiotherapy in Women’s Health (FPSM) Research Group, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28805 Madrid, Spain
Enrique Lluch: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
María Torres-Lacomba: Physiotherapy in Women’s Health (FPSM) Research Group, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28805 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate changes in the pain sensory profile of women with breast cancer. Five women with unilateral breast cancer were enrolled. Participants were assessed with direct (quantitative sensory testing, QST) and indirect measures of pain sensitization (self-reported central sensitization inventory, CSI) at baseline (before surgery), 1 week after surgery, and at 1, 6, 9, and 12 months post-surgery. In the event of pain occurrence, the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs was also used. Nociceptive pain was the predominant pain mechanism in the postoperative period, while an increase in sensitization predominated one year after breast cancer surgery, especially in those participants who had received more treatment procedures. The participants who received more therapies for breast cancer experienced persistent pain and a higher level of sensitization. An assessment protocol including direct measurements (QST) and indirect measurement (self-reported CSI) allows for detecting changes in pain sensitivity, which can be useful for characterizing and/or predicting pain before, during, and up to one year following surgical interventions for breast cancer.

Keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy; adjuvant hormonal therapy; breast neoplasm; breast surgery; pain sensitization; quantitative sensory testing; radiotherapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:4055-:d:782258

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