PURPOSE: To assess fatigue and quality of life in disease-free breast cancer survivors in relation to a sample of age-matched women with no cancer history and to explore the relationship between fatigue and quality of life. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 202 consecutive disease-free Brazilian breast cancer survivors, all of whom had completed treatment, treated at 2 large hospitals. The patients were compared to age-matched women with no cancer history attending a primary health care center. The Piper Fatigue Scale-Revised and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to measure the fatigue and quality of life, respectively. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were also obtained. The Ď 2 test, generalized linear model, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used for statistical purposes. The adopted level of significance was 5%. RESULTS: Breast cancer survivors experienced significantly greater total and subscale fatigue scores than comparison group (all p-values<0.05). In addition, survivors reported a poorer quality of life in physical (p=0.002), psychological (p=0.03), and social relationships (p=0.03) domains than comparison group. No difference was found for the environmental domain (p=0.08) for both groups. For survivors of breast cancer and for comparison group, the total and subscale fatigue scores were related to lower quality of life (all p-values<0.01). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the importance of assessing fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors.
ResumoOBJETIVO: Avaliar a fadiga e a qualidade de vida de sobreviventes de câncer de mama, livres da doença, em relação a uma amostra de mulheres da mesma idade, sem histĂłrico de câncer, e explorar a relação entre fadiga e qualidade de vida. MĂTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com uma amostra consecutiva de 202 pacientes brasileiras, sobreviventes de câncer de mama e livres da doença, que haviam completado o tratamento em 2 grandes hospitais. As pacientes foram comparadas com mulheres da mesma idade, sem histĂłria de câncer, acompanhadas em uma Unidade BĂĄsica de SaĂşde. A Escala de Fadiga de Piper-Revisada e o World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) foram usados para avaliar a fadiga e a qualidade de vida, respectivamente. Dados sociodemogrĂĄficos e clĂnicos tambĂŠm foram obtidos. O teste do Ď 2 , modelo linear generalizado e coeficiente de correlação de Spearman foram utilizados para fins estatĂsticos. Foi adotado o nĂvel de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: As sobreviventes de câncer de mama apresentaram significativamente maiores escores de fadiga total e das subescalas do que o grupo controle (todos os valores de p<0,05). AlĂŠm disso, as sobreviventes relataram pior qualidade de vida nos domĂnios fĂsico (p=0,002), psicolĂłgico (p=0,03) e relaçþes sociais (p=0,03) do que o grupo controle. Nenhuma diferença foi encontrada para o domĂnio ambiental (p=0,08) entre os 2 grupos. Para as sobreviventes de câncer de mama...