Cancer symptom cluster in hospitalized women with breast cancer: a descriptive observational study.
Roberto Júnio Gomes Silva, Wesley Rocha Grippa, Raphael Manhães Pessanha and 4 others
PMID 40298695WHAT IT FOUND
Pain, lack of energy, worry and sleep problems were the most common symptoms and formed the most prevalent cluster in hospitalized women with non-metastatic breast cancer.
Nurses can screen and address these together rather than separately.
Key findings
01Pain was reported by 67% of participants, lack of energy by 63%, worrying by 62% and difficulty sleeping by 57%.
02The most prevalent cluster was pain, lack of energy, worrying and difficulty sleeping.
03Pain and difficulty sleeping were more closely associated with lack of energy and worrying than with urinary and skin symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It was conducted at a single oncology referral center, so the symptom pattern may not apply to other hospitals or regions. The study included only 100 hospitalized women with non-metastatic breast cancer, which limits how widely the finding can be generalized. It was descriptive and had no comparison group, so it cannot show why symptoms clustered or whether any treatment changed them. Participants were at different disease stages and at any phase of antineoplastic treatment, so symptom patterns may reflect mixed treatment exposures. The authors note that the observational design does not allow bivariate or multivariate associations.
Declared interests
The study was financially supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES), UNIVERSAL/FAPES Call for Proposals No. 03/2021. The supplied text does not state any competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a nurse-led assessment or any treatment reduced these symptoms. The study was descriptive, had no control group and did not test an intervention, so it shows what symptoms occurred together, not what caused them or what works.