A study looking at sleep problems in people having treatment for breast cancer
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This study looked at how many people with breast cancer have sleep problems, and who is more likely to be affected.
The study was open for people to join between 2011 and 2012. The research team published results in 2019 and 2022.
More about this trial
People with breast cancer have a range of symptoms. This can include difficulty getting to sleep or having disturbed sleep. Sleep problems can affect people’s general well being and quality of life.
In this study, the research team asked people about their sleep before diagnosis, after diagnosis and during treatment.
The people taking part filled out:
- a sleep assessment once a month for a year
- health and wellbeing questionnaires every 3 months for a year
The research team also looked at something called sleep reactivity. This is whether stressful events affect your sleep or not.
People with high sleep reactivity are more likely to have disturbed sleep following a stressful life event. This includes being diagnosed with cancer. Those with low sleep reactivity are likely to continue sleeping relatively well. This is despite a stressful life event.
The main aims of this study were to find out:
- how many people with breast cancer have sleep problems
- what happens to sleep during cancer treatment
- who is most likely to have sleep problems
- when to support people with breast cancer who have poor sleep
Summary of results
A total of 173 people took part in this study. They had all been recently diagnosed with breast cancer that had not spread to another part of the body.
The research team looked at how many people had sleep problems. And when those problems started, got worse or went away. This was during the first year after diagnosis.
The results showed that some people had sleep problems before they were diagnosed with breast cancer. But overall, most people developed sleep problems after diagnosis.
They found that sleep problems affected:
- 43 people (25%) before diagnosis
- 79 people (46%) just after diagnosis
- 88 people (50%) during the year after diagnosis
The team looked at the results of 132 people in more detail. They found that 106 people (80%) developed insomnia at some point in the 12 months after diagnosis.
Some people had persistent insomnia. But 71 people (54%) had insomnia remission at some point. This means it went away again for at least part of the time.
They also found that people who had chemotherapy were more likely to have sleep problems. This is compared to those who had other treatments such as radiotherapy or hormone therapy.
Sleep reactivity
Of the 173 people who took part:
- 114 people had high sleep reactivity (more likely to have disturbed sleep after a stressful event)
- 59 people had low sleep reactivity (less likely to have disturbed sleep after a stressful event)
The results showed that about 3 out of 10 people (30%) with high sleep reactivity had insomnia after their diagnosis. But only a few people (5% or less) with low sleep reactivity had insomnia.
Conclusion
The team concluded that some people are more likely to have disturbed sleep than others. And that sleep reactivity scores may help predict who is most likely to have sleep problems during cancer treatment.
People most likely to have sleep problems were those who had:
- sleep problems before their diagnosis
- a high sleep reactivity score
- chemotherapy treatment
The team suggest that sleep assessment should be part of routine care. And that people at high risk should be offered more sleep support. This should include treatments such as 
(CBT).
More detailed information
There is more information about this research in the references below.
Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.
Insomnia in breast cancer: a prospective observational study
L Fleming and others
Sleep, 2019. Volume 42, issue 3, pages 1 – 10.
Sleep reactivity predicts insomnia in patients diagnosed with breast cancer
A Rehman and others
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2022. Volume 18, issue 11, pages 2597 – 2604.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on the information in the articles above. These have been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in medical journals. We have not analysed the data ourselves. As far as we are aware, the links we list above are active and the articles are free and available to view.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Chief Investigator
Dr Leanne Fleming
Supported by
Breast Cancer Now
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
