PURPOSE: As breast cancer survivors are benefiting increasingly from advanced forms of therapy, the side effects of locoregional treatment in the adjuvant setting are becoming more and more important. This article presents a new method of assessing the spatial distribution of paresthesia in breast cancer survivors after different locoregional treatments. METHODS: A structured questionnaire assessing paresthesia, with body pictograms for marking paresthesia areas, was completed by 343 breast cancer survivors. The image information was digitized, generating gray-scale summation images with numbers from 0, indicating black (100 % of the patients had paresthesia), to 255, indicating white (none had paresthesia). The resulting map visualization showed the locations of paresthesia on body pictograms. The group included patients who had undergone breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and mastectomy, and also patients who had received percutaneous and interstitial radiation. RESULTS: A total of 56.5 % of the patients stated that they had paresthesia. The paresthesia areas were distributed within the range suggested by clinical experience. Most patients stated that they had paresthesia in the upper outer quadrant and axilla. Patients who had undergone mastectomy or percutaneous radiotherapy appeared to have more paresthesia on some areas of the body surface. Patients who had undergone mastectomy indicated larger areas of paresthesia than those with BCS-4,066 pixels (px) vs. 2,275 px. Radiotherapy did not appear to influence the spatial distribution of paresthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Paresthesia is a common symptom after breast cancer treatment. This paper describes a new method of assessing this side effect to improve and individualize treatment for it in the future.
PURPOSE: As breast cancer survivors are benefiting increasingly from advanced forms of therapy, the side effects of locoregional treatment in the adjuvant setting are becoming more and more important. This article presents a new method of assessing the spatial distribution of paresthesia in breast cancer survivors after different locoregional treatments. METHODS: A structured questionnaire assessing paresthesia, with body pictograms for marking paresthesia areas, was completed by 343 breast cancer survivors. The image information was digitized, generating gray-scale summation images with numbers from 0, indicating black (100 % of the patients had paresthesia), to 255, indicating white (none had paresthesia). The resulting map visualization showed the locations of paresthesia on body pictograms. The group included patients who had undergone breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and mastectomy, and also patients who had received percutaneous and interstitial radiation. RESULTS: A total of 56.5 % of the patients stated that they had paresthesia. The paresthesia areas were distributed within the range suggested by clinical experience. Most patients stated that they had paresthesia in the upper outer quadrant and axilla. Patients who had undergone mastectomy or percutaneous radiotherapy appeared to have more paresthesia on some areas of the body surface. Patients who had undergone mastectomy indicated larger areas of paresthesia than those with BCS-4,066 pixels (px) vs. 2,275 px. Radiotherapy did not appear to influence the spatial distribution of paresthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Paresthesia is a common symptom after breast cancer treatment. This paper describes a new method of assessing this side effect to improve and individualize treatment for it in the future.
Authors: Carolin C Hack; Peter A Fasching; Tanja Fehm; Johann de Waal; Mahdi Rezai; Bernd Baier; Gerold Baake; Hans-Christian Kolberg; Martin Guggenberger; Mathias Warm; Nadia Harbeck; Rachel Wuerstlein; Jörg-Uwe Deuker; Peter Dall; Barbara Richter; Grischa Wachsmann; Cosima Brucker; Jan W Siebers; Nikos Fersis; Thomas Kuhn; Christopher Wolf; Hans-Walter Vollert; Georg-Peter Breitbach; Wolfgang Janni; Robert Landthaler; Andreas Kohls; Daniela Rezek; Thomas Noesslet; Gunnar Fischer; Stefan Henschen; Thomas Praetz; Volker Heyl; Thorsten Kühn; Thomas Krauss; Christoph Thomssen; Andre Hohn; Hans Tesch; Christoph Mundhenke; Alexander Hein; Claudia Rauh; Christian M Bayer; Adib Jacob; Katja Schmidt; Erik Belleville; Peyman Hadji; Sara Y Brucker; Diethelm Wallwiener; Sherko Kümmel; Matthias W Beckmann; Daniela Paepke Journal: Integr Cancer Ther Date: 2016-09-14 Impact factor: 3.279
Authors: Carolin C Hack; Janina Hackl; Nina B M Hüttner; Hanna Langemann; Judith Schwitulla; Svenja Dietzel-Drentwett; Peter A Fasching; Matthias W Beckmann; Anna-Katharin Theuser Journal: Integr Cancer Ther Date: 2018-05-30 Impact factor: 3.279