Fatigue in patients with breast cancer in adjuvant treatment

Abstract

Fatigue is a highly prevalent and a debilitating and chronic symptom in patients with cancer in adjuvant treatment. The objective of this study was to analyze in scientific literature the prevalence and course of fatigue in patients with breast cancer in adjuvant treatment. The literature review was carried through from the on-line Pubmed database between January 1996 and September 2004, using the following key words: "fatigue and breast cancer". The total numbers of article found in this search was 108. Among those, 14 articles had been identified that met the inclusion criteria for this study were identified. The fatigue occurred between 1% and 94% in patients with cancer, and was measured by specific instruments in nine studies. The fatigue increased during radiotherapy, remained as a plateau and returned to the pre-treatment level some months after radiotherapy was finished. During the chemotherapy it was observed the increase of its prevalence and severity, and the fatigue is higher  uring the first days after the chemotherapy, when compared to the period between the cycles. Many studies had disclosed that the fatigue is significantly associated with some physical, biological and behavioral facts and, when it is related to cancer it is multidimensional. More controlled research must be carried in the future, mainly in Brazilian women with breast cancer. Research with more homogeneous groups and with valid instruments for better knowledge of the fatigue in this population is important in order to improve the quality of life of these patients.