Browsing by Subject "ECM"

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    Open Access
    Exploring the association between gene sequence polymorphisms within the angiogenesis and extracellular matrix regulatory pathways and shoulder pain and disability following breast cancer treatment
    (2025) Mafu, Trevor; Shamley, Delva; September, Alison
    Shoulder pain and disability are common sequelae of breast cancer treatment in women, with an understated negative impact on the quality of life of affected individuals and a poorly characterised aetiology. A better understanding of the aetiology of shoulder pain and disability in breast cancer survivors is urgent to develop and/or integrate effective treatments to mitigate the related reduction in quality of life– this is especially important given the increasing cancer survivorship in societies such as in South Africa where a high percentage of households are female-headed and a resource-based public healthcare system is used by the majority. Previous studies have explored treatment-related and patient-related factors that modulate risk of upper-limb impairments in breast cancer survivors, including shoulder pain and disability. However, there is a paucity of relevant studies on key genetic factors. Genetic factors within angiogenesis-related signalling and extracellular matrix (ECM) regulating pathways have been implicated in non-cancer-related studies of soft tissue conditions of the shoulder that are associated with pain and display movement dysfunction similar to that seen in breast cancer post-treatment shoulder morbidity. It is largely unknown whether or not key factors within the angiogenesis-related and ECM-regulating signalling pathways may modulate risk of shoulder pain and disability in breast cancer survivors.