Abstract P1-17-10: Breast pain is a common complaint after breast cancer treatment but not a sign of recurrence
Authors: Komenaka Ian , Shah Anushi , Wong Tina , Cocco Daniela , Hsu Chiu-Hsieh , Nodora Jesse , Arslan Waqas , Martinez Maria Elena 
Published: March 2020

Background: Mastalgia, breast pain without other signs or symptoms, is a very common complaint, yet occurs in only approximately 5% of patients with breast cancer. Most clinicians are aware of this lack of association with cancer. Mastalgia is also a common complaint after breast cancer treatment. This symptom is very worrisome to many women, and when seen in the office, clinicians tend to give in to the fear of patients and order various tests. In 2017, we presented an abstract at SABCS that showed that breast pain was not associated with breast cancer diagnosis. Many attendees were interested in the incidence of breast pain after breast cancer treatment. The current study was performed to evaluate the incidence and significance of mastalgia after breast cancer treatment. Methods: Maricopa Medical Center, the county safety net hospital in Phoenix, Arizona serves a patient base which is 34.5% non-English speaking. The majority of these patients are uninsured or underinsured. A total of 1635 breast cancer patients were seen at least once at the Breast Clinic from June 1, 2006 to December 31, 2018. Sociodemographic variables were collected on all patients. All patients who were treated for breast cancer and then presented with a complaint of breast pain during follow up were evaluated. Additionally, all patients who complained of a breast mass but were found to have pain with no mass were evaluated in a similar fashion. Results: A total of 1577 patients were seen during the time period. The mean age of the patients was age 52. Of the patients, 144 presented with or developed metastatic disease prior to their operation. 116 patients transferred their care to another facility. Of the remaining patients, 36% of patients (474 of 1317) presented with a complaint of breast pain during their follow up after breast cancer treatment. Of the patients with breast pain, 16 had an ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence or contralateral breast cancer diagnosis, however, none of the patients presented with breast pain. The breast pain occurred after treatment was completed. Nine patients presented with a palpable mass and seven patients presented with abnormal imaging. In contrast, 6.0% patients (51 of 843) without breast pain developed an ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, chest wall recurrence, or contralateral breast cancer. 35 patients presented with a painless breast mass and the remaining 26 recurrences or contralateral breast cancer were found on routine imaging. Local recurrence or contralateral breast cancer were more common in patients without breast pain during follow up (p = 0.036). The two most common factors related to any breast cancer recurrence and death were noncompliance with recommended treatment and presentation with T4 (Stage 3B) breast cancer. Conclusions: Mastalgia is a very common complaint in patients seen for follow up after breast cancer treatment. Patients and providers may believe a complaint of breast pain warrants further workup and often results in additional, repeat, or interval imaging. With normal physical examination and routine imaging, however, breast pain alone does not appear to be an indication of breast cancer recurrence. Additional or repeat imaging as well as laboratory tests do not appear beneficial in patients with breast pain. Reassurance and patient education is necessary to avoid continued use of unnecessary medical resources.

Citation Format: Ian Komenaka, Anushi Shah, Tina Wong, Daniela Cocco, Chiu-Hsieh Hsu, Jesse Nodora, Waqas Arslan, Maria Elena Martinez. Breast pain is a common complaint after breast cancer treatment but not a sign of recurrence [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-17-10.