Abstract: Objective To analyze the occurrence of arthralgia in patients with breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors, and to evaluate the impact of arthralgia on patients′ quality of life. Methods One hundred and eighty seven patients with breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors in our hospital from December 2013 to December 2015 were selected. The occurrence and severity of arthralgia in patients were evaluated by using visual analogue scale method. The 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate patients′ quality of life. The occurrence of arthralgia in patients was analyzed. In addition, the quality of life of breast cancer patients with and without arthralgia and those with different degree of arthralgia was compared. Results The incidence of arthralgia was 77.5% (145/187) among 187 patients, of which 30.3% was mild (44/145), 40.0% was moderate (58/145) and 29.7% was severe (43/145). The scores of the role-physical (16.73±7.34 vs. 39.73±12.54; t=9.18, P=0.02), physiological function (53.63±12.91 vs. 77.18±9.82; t=7.49, P=0.04), mental health (53.18±14.76 vs. 75.14±17.21; t=14.96, P=0.01), role-emotional (46.23±14.30 vs. 68.75±15.93; t=12.17, P=0.02), bodily pain (40.35±18.49 vs. 91.48±19.67; t=16.28, P=0.01), social function (60.14±12.57 vs. 89.22±10.16; t=13.07, P=0.02), general health (45.52±14.61 vs. 60.78±18.45; t=15.77, P=0.01) and vitality (55.31±13.69 vs. 68.22±18.43; t=15.84, P=0.01) of patients with arthralgia were all lower than those of patients without arthralgia, with statistically significant differences. The scores of the role-physical (F=6.67, P=0.03), physiological function (F=10.94, P=0.02), mental health (F=11.32, P=0.02), role-emotional (F=11.49, P=0.02), bodily pain (F=15.71, P=0.01), social function (F=14.92, P=0.01), general health (F=9.98, P=0.02) and vitality (F=7.36, P=0.03) of different degree of arthralgia in patients with breast cancer had also statistical significance differences. Conclusion Arthralgia is more likely to occur in the treatment of breat cancer with aromatase inhibitors. Arthralgia and its severity can affect the patients′ quality of life.

Key words: Breast neoplasms, Arthralgia, Quality of life, Aromatase inhibitor