Abstract

Complications following breast cancer treatment are often given significantly less attention when assessing patients in favour of emphasizing survival rate, yet they represent a significant burden to survivors and should be treated accordingly. While lymphedema is the most prominent complication to occur postoperatively, axillary web syndrome (AWS) has emerged as a significant complication, leading to restrictions in range of motion, pain and an overall lower quality of life. While AWS is still an emerging topic with minimal background research, current findings agree that movement and function are restricted in the affected upper limb. The primary goal of this study is to examine the relationship between AWS and physical function; the secondary goal was to identify any other factors that may impact the condition. A novel scoring system was used alongside a validated assessment tool, the QuickDASH questionnaire, to identify any possible relationships between the severity of AWS and physical function. We hypothesized that a higher score on the AWS severity grading tool would be linked to higher scores on the QuickDASH questionnaire (decreased physical function). Pearson correlations were used to identify any meaningful relationships between the variables of interest, and independent sample t-tests were then used to analyze differences in subgroups. Our findings indicate a statistically significant correlation between AWS severity and QuickDASH scores, where increased severity is associated with decreased physical function. Furthermore, our analyses show that pain is a notable factor when determining severity, highlighting the importance of assessing this specific variable.