Initial experience of the BREAST-Q breast-conserving therapy module

• DOI: 10.1007/s10549-016-3966-x
• Publication Date: 2016-09-16T04:55:20Z
• Authors: Rachel L. O’Connell; Rosa DiMicco; Komel Khabra; Elizabeth A. O’Flynn; Nandita deSouza; Nicola Roche; Peter A. Barry; Anna M. Kirby; Jennifer E. Rusby
• Keywords: Aged, 80 and over; Breast Neoplasms; Segmental; Middle Aged; Mastectomy, Segmental; Combined Modality Therapy; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Patient Satisfaction; Risk Factors; 616; 80 and over; Quality of Life; Humans; Female; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Mastectomy; Aged

The most recently developed module of the BREAST-Q, a validated patient outcome measure, is for patients who have undergone breast-conserving therapy (BCT) for cancer. This aim of this study was to assess patient satisfaction and quality of life after BCT using BREAST-Q, investigate clinical risk factors for lower satisfaction and explore the relationship between patient satisfaction with the appearance of their breasts and the other domains of the BREAST-Q.Women who had undergone unilateral BCT in the preceding 1-6 years were invited to participate at the time of their annual surveillance mammogram. Clinicopathological data were collected from an electronic database. Linear regression was used to evaluate risk factors for lower satisfaction. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationship between domains.200 women completed the questionnaire. Mean age was 60 years (SD 11.1). Time from surgery was 35.5 months (SD 17.8). Median score for 'Satisfaction with breasts' was 68 (interquartile range 55-80). Lowest scores were for 'sexual wellbeing' (57, IQR 45-66). On multivariate analysis, BMI at the time of surgery (p = 0.002), delayed wound healing (p = 0.001) and axillary surgery (p = 0.003) were independent risk factors for lower satisfaction. There was significant correlation between 'Satisfaction with breasts' and all other BREAST-Q domains.High BMI, delayed wound healing and axillary surgery are risk factors for lower patient satisfaction. This first publication reporting the whole dataset for the BREAST-Q BCT will serve as a benchmark for future studies of patient satisfaction following BCT.