Table 2.
Differences in clinical characteristics between breast cancer survivors with and without paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.
| Characteristic |
No neuropathy50.0% (n=25) |
Neuropathy50.0% (n=25) |
Test, p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||
| Karnofsky Performance Status score | 92.9 (6.2) | 80.0 (11.2) | t = 5.02, p <.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.5 (3.5) | 27.2 (6.5) | t = −2.50, p = .017 |
| Number of comorbidities | 1.3 (1.2) | 1.5 (1.7) | t = −0.55, p = .589 |
| Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire score | 2.7 (2.7) | 3.6 (4.2) | t = −0.88, p = .384 |
| AUDIT score | 3.0 (1.7) | 1.7 (1.8) | t = 2.63, p = .012 |
| Years since cancer diagnosis | 4.2 (4.7) | 4.6 (3.9) | t = −0.34, p = .739 |
| Number of prior cancer treatments | 3.6 (0.8) | 3.6 (0.8) | t = −0.17, p = .863 |
| Number of current cancer treatments | 0.7 (0.7) | 0.6 (0.7) | t = 0.61, p = .543 |
| Number of metastatic sites (out of seven) | 1.0 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.5) | t = 1.72, p = .092 |
| Number of metastatic sites without lymph node involvement | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.04 (0.2) | t = 0.92, p = .365 |
|
% (n) |
% (n) |
||
| Smoker (ever) | 37.5 (9) | 32.0 (8) | FE, p = .769 |
| Exercise on a regular basis (% yes) | 87.5 (21) | 60.0 (15) | FE, p = .051 |
| Born prematurely (% yes) | 0.0 (0) | 12.5 (3) | FE, p = .110 |
| Comorbid conditions (% yes) | |||
| Osteoarthritis | 8.0 (2) | 28.0 (7) | FE, p = .138 |
| Back pain | 28.0 (7) | 24.0 (6) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Depression | 28.0 (7) | 16.0 (4) | FE, p = .496 |
| High blood pressure | 12.0 (3) | 28.0 (7) | FE, p = .289 |
| Heart disease | 0.0 (0) | 4.0 (1) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Diabetes | 0.0 (0) | 8.0 (2) | FE, p = .490 |
| Lung disease | 4.0 (1) | 4.0 (1) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Anemia or blood disease | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | Test not run |
| Ulcer or stomach disease | 0.0 (0) | 4.0 (1) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Kidney disease | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | Test not run |
| Liver disease | 0.0 (0) | 4.0 (1) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 0.0 (0) | 4.0 (1) | FE, p = 1.000 |
| Total cumulative dose of taxol (mg/m2)** | 782.8 (228.6) | 814.7 (217.0) | t = 0.14, p = .893 |
| Patients who had a dose reduction or delay due to neuropathy (% (n))** | 0.0 (0) | 12.0 (3) | FE, p = .235 |
Note: AUDIT: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; FE: Fisher’s exact test; kg: kilograms; m2: meters squared; mg: milligrams; SD: standard deviation.
**Doses are reported as milligrams per meter squared.