Cancer symptom cluster in hospitalized women with breast cancer: a descriptive observational study.

OBJECTIVES

to describe and analyze the most prevalent cancer symptom clusters as well as their intensity, discomfort and clustering in hospitalized women with non-metastatic malignant breast cancer.

METHODS

a descriptive observational study, with 100 women hospitalized with non-metastatic breast cancer, recruited at a reference oncology center in southeastern Brazil between June 2022 and March 2023. To analyze cancer symptom clusters, the hierarchical method was used.

RESULTS

fifty-one patients were in stage I of the disease, 13 women in stage II, and 36 women in stage III. The most frequent histological type was ductal carcinoma in situ (38%), followed by invasive carcinoma (33%). The most prevalent cancer symptoms were pain (67%), lack of energy (63%), worrying (62%), and difficulty sleeping (57%), constituting a neuropsychological symptom cluster.

CONCLUSIONS

the neuropsychological symptom cluster (pain-lack of energy-worrying-difficulty sleeping) was the most prevalent in women hospitalized with non-metastatic malignant breast neoplasm.