The Breast : official journal of the European Society of Mastology
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We collected registry- and questionnaire-based data on socio-economic and health status, tumor- and treatment-related variables, and explored associations with receipt of reconstruction and information about treatment options in a nationwide cohort of Danish women, treated for primary breast cancer. A total of 594 women were available for analysis, 240 (40%) of these received reconstruction. Multivariate analyses showed that receipt of reconstruction was associated with 1) younger age at time of primary surgery (<36 years: OR = 10.04, [3.80-26.50], p < 0.001 and 36-49 years: OR = 2.48, [1.73-3.56], p < 0.001, compared to 50-60 year olds), 2) having received radiotherapy (OR = 0.57, [0.40-0.81], p = 0.002), 3) high income (Second quartile: OR = 1.74, [1.05-2.90], p = 0.033 and fourth quartile: OR = 2.18, [1.31-3.62], p = 0.003, compared with the lowest income quartile), and 4) ethnicity other than Danish (OR = 6.32, [1.58-25.36], p = 0.009). ⋯ In addition, higher income was also found to be associated with reconstruction despite free and equal access to reconstruction and healthcare in Denmark. Healthrelated factors were not associated with the use of reconstruction following mastectomy. Our findings underscore the need for physicians to ensure optimal level of information and accessibility to reconstruction for all women regardless of age, treatment, and socio-economic status.
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Margin status is important in guiding decisions to re-excise following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for breast cancer. The College of American Pathologists (CAP) developed guidelines to standardize pathology reporting; however, compliance with margin documentation guidelines has been shown to vary. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine whether compliance with CAP guidelines affects re-excision and mastectomy rates. ⋯ Our findings suggest that compliance with CAP guidelines in pathology reporting may be associated with variation in re-excision and mastectomy rates following BCS.
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There are increasing rates of mastectomy and bi-lateral mastectomy in women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). To help women avoid decisions that lead to unnecessary aggressive treatments, there have been recent calls to remove the cancer terminology from descriptions of DCIS. We investigated how different proposed terminologies for DCIS affect women's perceived concern and management preferences. ⋯ Communicating a diagnosis of DCIS using terminology that does not include the cancer term was preferred by many women and may enable discussions about more conservative management options. However, women's preference for frequent monitoring during watchful waiting suggests women need more education and reassurance about this management approach.
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Decision-making for women requiring reconstruction and post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) includes oncological safety, cosmesis, patient choice, potential delay/interference with adjuvant treatment and surgeon/oncologist preference. This study aimed to quantitatively assess surgeons' attitudes and perceptions about reconstructive options in this setting, and to ascertain if surgical volume influenced advice given. A questionnaire was sent to surgical members of the UK Association of Breast Surgery (ABS) in March-June 2014. ⋯ Surgeons perceive they are using a variety of newer techniques such as Delayed-Immediate Reconstruction and Acellular Dermal Matrices to try to ameliorate the effects of PMRT. This survey demonstrates that there is wide variation in reported surgical practice in this difficult setting. There is widespread acknowledgement of the lack of evidence to guide decision-making.