Functional assessment of the arm following breast cancer treatment using the DASH survey

Autor: KA Kelley, Theodore N. Tsangaris, ME Detrani, Lisa K. Jacobs, David C. Chang
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cancer Research. 69:4096
ISSN: 1538-7445
0008-5472
Popis: Abstract #4096 Treatment of the axilla with surgery and radiation therapy (RT) has a risk of lymphedema and diminished function of the arm. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand survey (DASH) as a potential functional assessment tool post breast cancer treatment by comparing it to the Lymphedema and Breast Cancer Questionnaire (LBCQ), a lymphedema-specific questionnaire, the SF12, and functional arm measurements. A series of patients presenting to the Johns Hopkins Hospital Avon Foundation Breast Center for follow-up of breast cancer were collected. Inclusion criteria are patients > eighteen years receiving either a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary node dissection (ALND) at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Exclusion criteria were individuals who reported mental illness, prior deficits of the arm, or any bilateral procedure for treatment of breast cancer. Dependent variables are the DASH, LBCQ, and SF12 scores. Independent measures are arm circumferences and range-of-motion measurements of both arms. The study population included 41 female individuals presenting either prior to or following surgical procedures in the axilla. See Table 1 for demographics. Of those undergoing lumpectomy, 95.24% had RT, none received axillary RT, and 31.58% of the mastectomy patients had RT to the axillary basin. Subjects receiving RT (65.85%) either had whole breast RT (74.07%) or axillary RT (25.93%), others received chemotherapy (53.66%), and a small percentage received herceptin (7.32%). Internal validation of the quality of life surveys were highly correlated to each other. (Table 2). External validity was determined by comparing the quality of life surveys to the physiologic measures. The physical component of the SF-12 was significantly correlated to moderate lymphedema (p=0.019), which is defined as a difference in arm circumference of 2.0 to 3.0 cm. The patient sample included 11 patients with lymphedema, therefore the sample size was insufficient to assess the correlations between arm circumference and range of motion with the DASH and LBCQ. The DASH, LBCQ, and SF-12 are appropriate and valid measures of post-operative quality of life in the patient population post breast cancer treatment. Further patient recruitment is necessary to adequately determine the external validity of the DASH as a measure of the quality of life of patients with lymphedema. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 4096.
Databáze: OpenAIRE