title: Initial experience of the BREAST-Q breast-conserving therapy module.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Marsden Hospital, Orchard House, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Marsden Hospital, Orchard House, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DiMicco
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Komel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khabra
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: O'Flynn
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Nandita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: deSouza
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Marsden Hospital, Orchard House, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Marsden Hospital, Orchard House, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, UK.
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Marsden Hospital, Orchard House, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK. jennifer.rusby@rmh.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rusby
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015412:Mastectomy, Segmental / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: BREAST-Q; Breast cancer; Breast-conserving therapy; Patient-reported outcome measures