Abstract
BackgroundPostmastectomy immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) may improve the quality of life (QoL) of breast cancer patients. Guidelines recommend to discuss the option IBR with all patients undergoing mastectomy. However, substantial hospital variation in IBR-rates was previously observed in the Netherlands, influenced by patient, tumour and hospital factors and clinicians’ believes. Information provision about IBR may have a positive effect on receiving IBR and therefore QoL. This study investigated patient-reported QoL of patients treated with mastectomy with and without IBR. MethodsAn online survey, encompassing the validated BREAST-Q questionnaire, was distributed to a representative sample of 1218 breast cancer patients treated with mastectomy. BREAST-Q scores were compared between patients who had undergone mastectomy either with or without IBR. ResultsA total of 445 patients were included for analyses: 281 patients with and 164 without IBR. Patients who had received IBR showed significantly higher BREAST-Q scores on “psychosocial well-being” (75 versus 67, p < 0.001), “sexual well-being” (62 versus 52, p < 0.001) and “physical well-being” (77 versus 74, p = 0.021) compared to patients without IBR. No statistically significant difference was found for “satisfaction with breasts” (64 versus 62, p = 0.21). Similar results were found after multivariate regression analyses, revealing IBR to be an independent factor for a better patient-reported QoL. ConclusionsPatients diagnosed with breast cancer with IBR following mastectomy report a better QoL on important psychosocial, sexual and physical well-being domains. This further supports the recommendation to discuss the option of IBR with all patients with an indication for mastectomy and to enable shared decision-making.
Highlights
Against the background of good prognosis and limited local treatment associated morbidity for primary breast cancer patients who undergo curative treatment [1], attention shifts to maintaining quality of life as an important goal of care
To investigate the clinical significance of the observed variation of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) rates in terms of patient-reported quality of life, the aim of the present study was to compare health-related quality of life of breast cancer patients treated with mastectomy with IBR versus mastectomy without IBR
Questionnaires were sent to a total of 1218 patients: 502 who had undergone mastectomy with IBR and 716 who had not received IBR after mastectomy
Summary
Against the background of good prognosis and limited local treatment associated morbidity for primary breast cancer patients who undergo curative treatment [1], attention shifts to maintaining quality of life as an important goal of care. PROMs aim to assess the actual feelings and thoughts of a patient and help clinicians and patients to measure, interpret, and understand quality of life as perceived by the patient [2] As such, it may enhance communication between clinicians and patients in shared decision-making. Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with breast cancer with IBR following mastectomy report a better QoL on important psychosocial, sexual and physical well-being domains. This further supports the recommendation to discuss the option of IBR with all patients with an indication for mastectomy and to enable shared decision-making
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