The following is a summary of “Breast conservation and oncoplastic surgery are associated with improved quality of life,” published in the October 2024 issue of Oncology by Barbalho et al.
Local treatments for breast cancer can be distressful for patients, impacting their QoL.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate how different local treatments affect QoL in patients with breast cancer.
They performed a cohort study using Breast-Q Satisfaction with Breasts scores as a QoL measure (n=349; P=0.005) and applied linear regression to assess the impact of treatment types, adjusting for multiple covariates.
The results showed that among the 711 eligible patients, 349 female patients answered both pre- and 1-year postoperative questionnaires. The analysis indicated that mastectomy was associated with lower QoL scores compared to breast-conserving surgery (-21.3; 95% CI: -36.2, -6.4; P=0.005), while oncoplastic surgery was linked to higher scores (9.2; 95% CI: 0.8, 17.6; P=0.032). Additionally, a trend toward higher scores with the use of flaps in breast reconstruction and lower scores associated with radiation therapy, though the differences were not statistically significant.
They concluded that breast-conserving surgery improves QoL compared to mastectomy, and oncoplastic surgery further enhances this benefit.
Source: frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1465769/full
