Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was performed to identify the levels of paclitaxel-containing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in relation to quality of life (QOL) in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 82 breast cancer patients with CIPN participated in this study. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires containing three instruments by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), such as QLQ-C30 for health-related QOL, QLQ-BR23 for breast cancer-related QOL, and QLQ-CIPN20 for CIPN. Scores from all three instruments were transformed into 0 to 100 scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN20 with descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlations. RESULTS: The mean score for each subscale of health-related QOL was 46.14 for global health status, 62.43 for functional scale, and 31.29 for symptom scale. The mean score for each subscale of breast cancer-related QOL was 56.55 for the functional scale and 42.06 for the symptom scale. Also, the CIPN's mean score on the sensory scale was 30.42, 24.03 on the motor scale, and 22.70 on the autonomic scale. There were significant moderate correlations between QOLs and CIPN (r ranged from -.37 to .65). CONCLUSION: There is a need to develop interventions for breast cancer patients to enhance their quality of life and to alleviate chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.