Pressure Pain Phenotypes in Women Before Breast Cancer Treatment

Objectives: To explore associations between quantitative sensory testing (QST) and pretreatment pain, physical, and psychological characteristics in women with breast cancer.

Sample & Setting: 41 women with treatment-naive stage 0–III breast cancer at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor.

Methods & Variables: Participants completed self-report surveys and QST within the month before breast surgery. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were measured bilaterally at each trapezius with a manual QST algometer. PPT values were split, yielding low, moderate, and high pain sensitivity subgroups. Subgroup self-reported characteristics were compared using Spearman’s correlation, chi-square, and one-way analysis of variance.

Results: Lower PPT (higher sensitivity) was associated with higher levels of pain interference and maladaptive pain cognitions. The high-sensitivity group reported higher pain severities, interference, and catastrophizing and lower belief in internal locus of pain control than the low-sensitivity group.

Implications for Nursing: Individualized interventions for maladaptive pain cognitions before surgery may reduce pain sensitivity and the severity of chronic pain developed after surgery.