Severe vasomotor symptoms prevalent among breast cancer patients undergoing chemo

Severe vasomotor symptoms appear to be common among women with breast cancer who are receiving chemotherapy, according to a study.

A total of 423 women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy and 1,829 community-dwelling women without breast cancer participated in the study. All participants completed a questionnaire assessing menopause symptoms using the Menopause Rating Scale and general characteristics, such as sociodemographic and clinical data.

Propensity score matching was applied to reduce the confounders between the two groups of women, leaving 808 for inclusion in the analysis. Menopause symptoms were compared using student's t test or Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square tests. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to examine various factors that affect menopause symptoms in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

The mean age of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy was 49.58 years, while that of those in the comparison group was 49.10 years. The group of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy had significantly more severe vasomotor symptoms compared with the comparison group. However, the comparison group had higher Menopause Rating Scale scores.

Factors that influenced menopause symptoms in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy included age, occupational status, chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea, family history of cancer, chemotherapy stage, mindfulness, resiliency, and illness perception.