Hormone therapy is a highly effective treatment for reducing recurrence and mortality in women with breast cancer. However, it can cause several adverse effects such as arthralgia. Few studies investigate the factors that can influence arthralgia in women undergoing cancer treatment.

to investigate the association between the duration of hormone therapy and arthralgia in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

This is a cross-sectional analytical study. The study included women using hormone therapy (Tamoxifen or Anastrozole) for breast cancer and complaining of arthralgia (at least 1 point on the Numerical Categorical Scale - NCS and 1 joint located on the Brief Pain Inventory - BPI). Women who had stage IV cancer, with the presence of lymphedema, limitation to answer questionnaires and women with tumor recurrence were excluded. Data distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. To determine the isolated contribution of Hormone Therapy Time (independent variable) to arthralgia (dependent variable) in women of hormone therapy for breast cancer, linear regression analyzes, and Spearman correlation coefficients were performed. The significance level was set at 5%. The correlation was classified according to the following criteria: weak (0.0 - 0.4), moderate (0.4 - 0.7) and strong (0.7 - 10).

ninety-two women with a mean age of 53.68 years and a standard deviation of 9.53 participated in the study. The mean duration of hormone therapy use was 2.44 years, with a standard deviation of 1.45, and the mean duration of arthralgia was 5.38. with a standard deviation of 2.73. Arthralgia and duration of hormone therapy did not present a significant correlation (p=0.11; r=0.16).

no association was observed between the duration of hormone therapy and arthralgia in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Although numerous studies report the presence of arthralgia in women who use hormone therapy in the treatment of breast cancer, the duration of hormone therapy does not seem to influence this complaint. However, prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm the effects of hormone therapy duration on arthralgia in women undergoing cancer treatment.