The impact of skin involvement on the quality of life of breast cancer patients with chest wall recurrence and their caregivers

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To assess the impact of skin involvement on the quality of life (QoL) among breast cancer patients with chest wall recurrence and their caregivers. Methods We invited the female breast cancer patients with chest wall recurrence who received treatment at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from November 2020 to July 2021 to complete EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-BR23, and HADS questionnaire. Their stable caregiver filled out SF-36 and HADS questionnaires. The assessment of the QoL was conducted once every two cycles of systemic treatment, with a total of three assessments. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier curves. Results A total of 42 participants and their family caregivers completed the QoL questionnaire for all three assessments. We found that in the skin involvement group, the breast symptoms worsened and the future perspectives decreased. The multiple functions and general health status of the patients in this group were also lower than those in the group without skin involvement. Skin involvement predicted the shorter disease progression of patients with chest wall recurrence. Compared to patients without skin involvement (5%), patients with skin involvement (29%) were more likely to experience the deterioration of arm symptoms. There were no differences in the family caregivers’ questionnaire between the two groups. Conclusion Chest wall recurrence patients with skin involvement had shorter disease progression intervals, more sever breast symptoms, and lower future prospects. This research further provided a reference for the application and promotion of QoL assessment tools in the management of recurrent breast cancer.