Effect of Chemotherapy on Diaphragm Mobility and Diaphragm Thickness in Breast Cancer Patients: An Observational Study

Background: Breast cancer being the common malignancy that affect many women nowadays and those patients with breast cancer often experience dyspnea after chemotherapy associated with the chemotherapy-induced injury of respiratory muscles and peripheral nerves. Also, Chemotherapy is known to induce diverse side effects including damage to the mitochondrial DNA. Objective: To find out the effect of chemotherapy on diaphragm mobility and diaphragm thickness in breast cancer patients. Materials & Method: The study was conducted with 30 diagnosed breast cancer patients who met the inclusion criteria using a cross-sectional research design. After approval of ethical clearance, informed consent was obtained from the participants. Data was collected by Ultrasonography before starting of chemotherapy and after 5 weeks of chemotherapy. Demographic data and baseline measures were recorded before starting the examination. The collected data were measured using the open Epi Instat version for Windows statistical software. Result: In the present study of 30 patients, the mean age group was 50.23±12.31, height 157.03±5.18, weight 56±6.0. In our study, we found a result showing statistically significant changes in diaphragm mobility and diaphragm thickness in breast patients. Conclusion: The study concludes that patients with breast cancer showed significant decline in diaphragm mobility and diaphragm thickness after administration of 5 weeks of chemotherapy. Key words: Diaphragm mobility, Diaphragm thickness, Breast cancer, respiratory muscles, Ultrasonography.