Grip Strength in Women Being Treated for Breast Cancer and Receiving Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy: Systematic Review.

Background: Adjuvant endocrine therapy in breast cancer has increased survival rates; however, it is not without musculoskeletal side effects.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to systematically and critically appraise the available scientific evidence concerning the effect of adjuvant endocrine treatment on grip strength in women being treated for breast cancer.

Data sources and study selection: The National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE-PubMed), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Excerpta Medical Database by Elsevier (EMBASE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) were searched from inception to February 2017 for appropriate papers that could answer the focused question. The searches were independently screened by 2 reviewers. The data from 7 papers that met the eligibility criteria were processed for further analysis.

Data extraction and synthesis: The collective data and the statistical analysis of all included studies were summarized and presented in a descriptive manner. If not provided, based on data from the individual included studies, a mean percent change in grip strength was calculated. The included studies evaluating aromatase inhibitors had inconclusive outcomes, and studies with a follow-up of 6 or 12 months showed a percent reduction in grip strength varying from 0.1% to 9.7%. None of the included studies showed a significant decrease in grip strength in tamoxifen users, with a percent reduction in grip strength varying from 1.4% to 2.2%.

Limitations: The 7 studies included cohort studies lacking a control group.

Conclusions: There is inconclusive evidence for a small decrease in grip strength in women treated for breast cancer who are also receiving aromatase inhibitors. In those that use tamoxifen, grip strength did not change significantly.