Three Equally Effective Surgical Procedures May Not Produce Equal Quality Of Life.

2001 MAY 10 - (NewsRx Network) -- Women treated for breast carcinoma may experience a different quality of life depending on the type of surgery used to treat the disease, according to a study published in the April 1, 2001 issue of Cancer.

The authors point out that with the exception of body image, women treated with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) or mastectomy with reconstruction did not report a quality of life superior to that of women who were treated with mastectomy alone.

Women with early-stage breast carcinoma generally have a choice among three surgical options: BCS, mastectomy, or mastectomy with reconstruction. Because these three procedures are equally effective in the treatment of early-stage breast carcinoma, the choice among these surgeries often focuses on determining which method will optimize the patient's quality of life.

Mary J. Nissen, of the Oncology Research department at Park Nicollet Institute, and colleagues analyzed information regarding the quality of life outcomes resulting from each of the three surgical procedures in an effort to assist women in making an informed decision concerning their treatment of choice ("Quality of Life after Breast Carcinoma Surgery: A Comparison of Three Surgical Procedures," Cancer, 2001;91(7):1238-1246).

All patients in the study were participants in a randomized clinical trial designed to assess the impact of advanced practice nursing on the quality of life and subsequent medical costs for women who were newly diagnosed with breast carcinoma. The data obtained from that study allowed a comparison of quality of life in women who underwent mastectomy alone, women who underwent mastectomy with reconstruction, and women who underwent BCS.

Of the 198 women ages 30-85 years who participated in the study, 52% were treated with BCS, 28% were treated with mastectomy alone, and the remaining 20% were treated by mastectomy ...