Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics at enrolment
| Variable | Experimental Group (n = 55) |
Control Group (n = 57) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| f (%) | f (%) | ||
| Age (years) | Mean = 46.2, SD = 8.56 | Mean = 46.5, SD = 9.38 | 0.847 |
| Education | |||
| Primary | 35 (63.6) | 28 (49.1) | 0.325** |
| High school | 18 (32.7) | 25 (43.9) | |
| University | 2 (3.7) | 4 (7.0) | |
| Occupation | |||
| Unemployed | 43 (78.2) | 44 (77.2) | 1.000* |
| Employed | 12 (21.8) | 13 (22.8) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Single/Widow | 7 (12.7) | 10 (17.5) | 0.701* |
| Married | 48 (87.3) | 47 (82.5) | |
| Breast cancer staging | |||
| IIIa | 14 (25.5) | 23 (40.4) | 0.196** |
| IIIb | 38 (69.0) | 30 (52.6) | |
| IIIc | 3 (5.5) | 4 (7.0) | |
| Surgical treatment | |||
| No | 35 (63.6) | 34 (59.6) | 0.701* |
| Yes | 20 (36.4) | 23 (40.4) | |
| Chemotherapy treatment | |||
| FAC | 43 (78.2) | 48 (84.2) | 0.222** |
| TAC | 8 (14.6) | 5 (8.8) | |
| AC+paclitaxel | 2 (3.6) | 4 (7.0) | |
| Others | 2 (3.6) | - | |
| Chemotherapy cycle | |||
| 1 | 22 (40.0) | 21 (36.8) | 0.320** |
| 2 | 14 (25.4) | 21 (36.8) | |
| 3 | 9 (16.4) | 7 (12.3) | |
| 4 | 10 (18.2) | 8 (14.0) | |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Yes | 4 (7.3) | 10 (17.5) | 0.152*** |
| No | 51 (92.7) | 47 (82.5) |
Note:
*
= Chi-square test,
**
= Likelihood ratio,
***
= Fisher’s exact test
Fluoroacil/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (FAC), Docetaxel/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (TAC), doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel (AC + paclitaxel)