Fertility: A control factor for post mastectomy pain syndrome in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Normally, surgery is the first choice of treatment for breast cancer which brings about side effects as chronic pain. Post mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) is one of the most prevalent side effects in breast cancer survivors as a chronic neuropathic pain lasting more than three months. The precise mechanisms and risk factors connected to chronic pain after breast surgery are not identified. Objectives: This study is aimed at identifying the effects of fertility on PMPS after breast surgery in breast cancer patients. Methods: In this case-control study, a total number of 111 women were studied. Of these, 56 women were diagnosed with positive PMPS and place in the case group, and 55 patients without pain were selected as the control group. The patients’ demographic and clinical information were collected by means of a questionaire and their medical files. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, chi-square, Mann-whitney U, Regression Logisitic (Backward), were used to analyze the data in SPSS 22 software. Results: According to the acquired results, the mean age of the study population was 49.77 ± 10.94, the mean weight was 69.5 ± 11.45 kg, the mean height was 160 ± 8.14 centimeter and mean BMI was 27.4 ± 5.4. All in all, the results showed that fertile women were more likely not to suffer from PMPS compared to nulipar women, and there was not a correlation between psychological disorders or other diseases, and PMPS. Conclusions: Fertility is not only a decrescent factor of breast cancer, but also reduces PMPS in breast cancer patients. Encouraging timely fertility, and pregnancy and lactation cares must be the major part of reproductive health education programs.