Increasing Rates but Persistent Variability of Immediate Breast Reconstruction: Real-Time Data from a Population-Based Study (2012-2022)

Introduction: Preserving the breast contour after mastectomy is proven to be beneficial for the quality of life of a large group of patients with breast cancer (BC). The aim of the present study is to provide an up-to-date overview of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) in hospitals in the Netherlands over the past 10 years.

Patients and methods: Nationwide data of patients with BC who underwent a mastectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive BC between January 2012 and September 2022 were requested from the Dutch Breast Cancer Audit (NBCA). Primary outcome was the incidence and trend in application of IBR. Secondary outcomes were factors associated with the use of IBR and the variation among Dutch hospitals.

Results: In total, 56,164 patients underwent a mastectomy for DCIS (n = 8334) or invasive BC (n = 47,830) (2012-2022). The use of IBR for DCIS increased from 39 in 2012 to 48% in 2022 (2012-2017; range 0-85% and 2018-2021; range 0-83%). For DCIS, age < 50 years and lower DCIS grade were positively associated with IBR. The use of IBR for invasive BC increased from 16 in 2012 to 29% in 2022 (2012-2017; range 0-74%, 2018-2022; range 0-77%). For invasive BC, age < 40 years, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and no adjuvant radiotherapy were positively associated with IBR.

Conclusion: Despite an overall increase of IBR, national variations remain. Further prospective research is initiated ( www.decidestudie.com ) to investigate this variation, which may lead to a more even distribution of IBR use among hospitals in the Netherlands.