The impact of age on patient-reported outcomes after oncoplastic versus conventional breast cancer surgery
Mathilde Ritter, Barbara Ling, Ida Oberhauser, Giacomo Montagna, Lea Zehnpfennig, Jérémy Lévy, Savas D. Soysal, Liliana Castrezana, Madleina Müller, Fabienne D. Schwab, Christian Kurzeder, Martin Haug, W. P. Weber, Elisabeth A. Kappos
Abstract
PURPOSE: Some studies have indicated age-specific differences in quality of life (QoL) among breast cancer (BC) patients. The aim of this study was to compare patient-reported outcomes after conventional and oncoplastic breast surgery in two distinct age groups. METHODS: Patients who underwent oncoplastic and conventional breast surgery for stage I-III BC, between 6/2011-3/2019, were identified from a prospectively maintained database. QoL was prospectively evaluated using the Breast-Q questionnaire. Comparisons were made between women < 60 and ≥ 60 years. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-three patients were included. Seventy-three of them were ≥ 60 years old. 15 (20.5%) of them received a round-block technique (RB) / oncoplastic breast-conserving surgeries (OBCS), 10 (13.7%) underwent nipple-sparing mastectomies (NSM) with deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP) reconstruction, 23 (31.5%) underwent conventional breast-conserving surgeries (CBCS), and 25 (34.2%) received total mastectomy (TM). Sixty patients were younger than 60 years, 15 (25%) thereof received RB/OBCS, 22 (36.7%) NSM/DIEP, 17 (28.3%) CBCS, and 6 (10%) TM. Physical well-being chest and psychosocial well-being scores were significantly higher in older women compared to younger patients (88.05 vs 75.10; p < 0.001 and 90.46 vs 80.71; p = 0.002, respectively). In multivariate linear regression, longer time intervals had a significantly positive effect on the scales Physical Well-being Chest (p = 0.014) and Satisfaction with Breasts (p = 0.004). No significant results were found concerning different types of surgery. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that age does have a relevant impact on postoperative QoL. Patient counseling should include age-related considerations, however, age itself cannot be regarded as a contraindication for oncoplastic surgery.