Research Group MOVANT, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy (REVAKI), University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Research Group Rehabilitation in Internal Disorders (GRID), Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Eur J Pain. 2024 Aug;28(7):1226-1241. doi: 10.1002/ejp.2257. Epub 2024 Mar 5.
The prevalence of persistent pain among breast cancer survivors (BCS) is high, and it is unclear what distinguishes those with persistent pain from those without. Research suggests that differences in somatosensory function evaluated by quantitative sensory testing (QST) may be responsible.
This study aimed to describe somatosensory profiles in terms of hyper- and hypoesthesia in BCS with and without persistent pain using reference data from healthy controls. Second, QST parameters of BCS with and without pain were compared with those of healthy controls (i.e., a negative control group) and patients with fibromyalgia (i.e., a positive control group).
Participants (n = 128) were divided into four equal groups: healthy controls, BCS with persistent pain, BCS without persistent pain, and patients with fibromyalgia. Nine QST parameters were evaluated at the trunk and at a remote location. Somatosensory profiles were determined by Z-score transformation of QST data using normative data from healthy controls.
At the trunk, compared to healthy controls, BCS with persistent pain exhibited sensory aberrations across five out of seven QST parameters: pressure pain threshold, mechanical detection, and thermal thresholds. Pain-free BCS showed similar sensory aberrations across the four QST parameters compared to healthy controls: mechanical detection and thermal thresholds. Temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation were not significantly different between groups.
BCS with persistent pain exert aberrations in peripheral processing of nociceptive signals, heightened facilitation of nociceptive signals, and higher psychosocial burden when compared to pain-free BCS, healthy controls, and patients with fibromyalgia.
This study investigates the somatosensory function of breast cancer survivors with and without persistent pain using quantitative sensory testing and two control group (i.e., patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls). Our results indicate somatosensory aberrations within the peripheral, but not central pathways in breast cancer survivors with persistent pain. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the somatosensory mechanisms underlying persistent pain, which may inform future interventions to prevent the development of persistent pain, and improve treatment modalities.
乳腺癌幸存者（BCS）持续性疼痛的患病率很高，但目前尚不清楚哪些因素可以区分有持续性疼痛和没有持续性疼痛的患者。研究表明，通过定量感觉测试（QST）评估的躯体感觉功能差异可能是造成这种情况的原因。
本研究旨在使用健康对照者的参考数据，描述有和无持续性疼痛的 BCS 患者的超敏和感觉迟钝的躯体感觉特征。其次，比较有和无疼痛的 BCS 患者的 QST 参数与健康对照组（即阴性对照组）和纤维肌痛患者（即阳性对照组）的 QST 参数。
参与者（n=128）被分为四组：健康对照组、有持续性疼痛的 BCS 患者、无持续性疼痛的 BCS 患者和纤维肌痛患者。在躯干和远处位置评估了九个 QST 参数。使用健康对照者的 QST 数据的 Z 分数转换来确定躯体感觉特征。
与健康对照组相比，有持续性疼痛的 BCS 在七个 QST 参数中的五个参数上表现出感觉异常：压力疼痛阈值、机械检测和热阈值。无疼痛的 BCS 在四个 QST 参数上与健康对照组相比表现出相似的感觉异常：机械检测和热阈值。时间总和和条件性疼痛调制在组间没有显著差异。
与无疼痛的 BCS、健康对照组和纤维肌痛患者相比，有持续性疼痛的 BCS 在周围伤害性信号处理、伤害性信号易化增强以及更高的心理社会负担方面表现出异常。
本研究使用定量感觉测试和两个对照组（即纤维肌痛患者和健康对照者）研究了有和无持续性疼痛的乳腺癌幸存者的躯体感觉功能。我们的结果表明，有持续性疼痛的乳腺癌幸存者的外周躯体感觉异常，但中枢通路没有异常。我们的研究结果有助于更好地理解持续性疼痛的躯体感觉机制，这可能为预防持续性疼痛的发展以及改善治疗方式提供信息。
