Background: In primary breast cancer, breast conserving surgery and mastectomy are equal options with regard to patient survival. We therefore investigated whether and how the type of surgery has impact on the patients' quality of life (QoL) in order to support individualized surgical concepts in treatment of breast cancer. 3 types of surgery are compared: breast-conserving surgery; modified radical mastectomy with or without primary reconstruction.
Patients and methods: 91 out of 114 consecutive patients diagnosed with histologically confirmed primary breast cancer agreed to answer the QoL questionnaires within the first 2 years of their follow-up care. 2 recognized questionnaires on sense of well-being and QoL were used: Multidimensional Mood Questionnaire and QoL SF-12.
Results: No significant correlation between sense of well-being and type of operation or tumor stage was found. With regard to health-related QoL, we saw no significant correlation with type of surgery. However, low tumor stage was significantly correlated with better physical (p = 0.012) but not psychological well-being.
Conclusion: Within the first 2 years after primary surgery for breast cancer, we did not find significant differences in sense of well-being or QoL dependent on type of surgery.
(c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.