Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Nov;206(5):625-31.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013.08.003. Epub 2013 Sep 6.

Therapy choices and quality of life in young breast cancer survivors: a short-term follow-up

Marie Catherine Lee  1 , Rajendra S Bhati, Edina E von Rottenthaler, Angela M Reagan, Sloan B Karver, Richard R Reich, Gwendolyn P Quinn
Affiliations

Therapy choices and quality of life in young breast cancer survivors: a short-term follow-up

Marie Catherine Lee et al. Am J Surg. 2013 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Premenopausal women represent approximately 35% of new breast cancer diagnoses. Diagnosis and treatment may lead to substantial disruption in quality of life (QOL).

Methods: Premenopausal patients (aged 18 to 50 years) treated for nonmetastatic breast cancer completed a mailed questionnaire. Multiple self-reported QOL measures and clinical data were collected. Cluster analysis and Cronbach's α were used to validate the survey. Analysis of variance was performed for specific interventions. Lower interference scores conveyed higher QOL.

Results: The response rate was 49.8%. Cronbach's α was 0.96. Immediate contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) carried the highest interference (mean, 3.3148) with sexuality compared with no CPM (mean, 2.85) or delayed CPM (P = .03). Breast conservation had the least interference with appearance (P < .01) and work and finances (P = .02).

Conclusions: Therapeutic mastectomy and CPM with or without reconstruction may adversely affect QOL. These findings suggest that the choice and timing of interventions may significantly affect patient satisfaction.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Premenopausal; Prophylactic mastectomy; Quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graph of QOL interference by surgery.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graph of QOL interference by use of CPM.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Graph of QOL interference by radiation type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Cancer Society. Breast cancer facts and figures 2011–12. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2012.
    1. Ries LAG, et al. SEER cancer statistics review 1975–2005. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005/.
    1. Arora NK, Gustafson DH, Hawkins RP, et al. Impact of surgery and chemotherapy on the quality of life of younger women with breast carcinoma. Cancer. 2001;92:1288–1298. - PubMed
    1. Avis NE, Crawford S, Manuel J. Quality of life among younger women with breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23:3322–3330. - PubMed
    1. Brady MJ, Cella DF, Mo F, et al. Reliability and validity of the functional assessment of cancer therapy breast quality-of-life instrument. J Clin Oncol. 1997;15:974–986. - PubMed

Publication types