Patient-reported outcomes and quality of life after breast-conserving surgery, mastectomy, and breast reconstruction assessed using the BREAST-Q questionnaire

Purpose Breast-conserving surgery is the preferred treatment for breast cancer; however, its associated risk of local recurrence is higher than that of mastectomy. We performed a comparative analysis of four patient-reported outcomes, psychosocial well-being, sexual well-being, breast satisfaction, and physical well-being of the chest, and quality of life after three surgical approaches, breast-conserving therapy (BCT), mastectomy alone, and mastectomy with breast reconstruction, for breast cancer treatment. Methods A cross-sectional survey using the BREAST-Q questionnaire and including patients who had undergone breast surgery at least 1 year prior to survey completion was performed. The analysis included 1035 patients (mean age, 55.0 +/- 9.1 years) who underwent breast reconstruction, 116 patients (mean age, 63.6 +/- 12.2 years) who underwent mastectomy, and 64 patients (mean age, 60.8 +/- 12.2 years) who underwent BCT. Results Patients who underwent reconstruction had significantly higher psychosocial well-being scores (62.8 +/- 18.4) than those who underwent BCT (57.0 +/- 23.6) and mastectomy (50.8 +/- 16.8) (p < 0.01). However, significant differences in self-acceptance scores among all patients were not observed. Regarding sexual well-being and breast satisfaction, patients who underwent mastectomy had significantly lower scores (29.9 +/- 18.7 and 41.8 +/- 17.7, respectively) than those who underwent BCT (45.8 +/- 26.6 and 58.3 +/- 17.5, respectively) and reconstruction (46.4 +/- 20.3 and 58.8 +/- 15.4, respectively) (p < 0.01). Physical well-being of the chest scores were not significantly different among all patients (p = 0.14). Symptoms after mastectomy included chest muscle pain and arm movement impairment. Breast pain was a notable symptom after BCT. Conclusion The study findings provide valuable insights regarding patient-reported outcomes, highlight the potential benefits of breast reconstruction, and emphasize the importance of patients' preferences.