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Receipt of Delayed Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy: Do Women Revisit the Decision?

  • Reconstructive Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Postmastectomy breast reconstruction is an important component of breast cancer care, but few receive it at the time of the mastectomy. Virtually nothing is known about receipt of reconstruction after initial cancer therapy and why treatment might be delayed.

Materials and Methods

A 5-year follow-up survey was mailed to a population-based cohort of mastectomy-treated breast cancer patients who were initially surveyed at time of diagnosis in 2002 and reported to the Los Angeles and Detroit SEER registries (N = 645, response rate 60%). Outcomes were receipt of reconstruction (immediate [IR], delayed [DR], or none) and patient appraisal of their treatment decisions.

Results

About one-third (35.9%) had IR, 11.5% had DR, and 52.6% had no reconstruction. One-third delayed reconstruction because they focused more on other cancer interventions, and nearly half were concerned about surgical complications and interference with cancer surveillance. Two-thirds of those with no reconstruction said that the procedure was not important to them. A large proportion of all patients were satisfied with their reconstruction decision-making (89.4% IR, 78.4% DR, 80.4% no reconstruction, P = NS). However, only 59.3% of those with no reconstruction felt that they were adequately informed about their reconstructive options (vs 82.7% IR and 78.4% DR, P < .01).

Conclusions

There was modest uptake of breast reconstruction after initial cancer treatment. Factors associated with delayed reconstruction were primarily related to uncertainty about the procedure, concern about cancer surveillance, and low priority. Those without reconstruction demonstrated significant informational needs, which should be addressed with future research efforts.

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Acknowledgment

This work was funded by a grant from the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (as a career development award to Dr. Alderman) and grant R01 CA8837-A1 from the National Cancer Institute to the University of Michigan. The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Health Services as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program under contract N01-PC-67010 awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract N02-PC-15105 awarded to the Public Health Institute; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement No. U55/CCR921930 awarded to the Public Health Institute. The collection of metropolitan Detroit cancer incidence data was supported by the NCI SEER Program contract N01-PC-65064.

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Correspondence to Amy K. Alderman MD, MPH.

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The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s), and endorsement by the State of California, Department of Public Health the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their Contractors and Subcontractors is not intended nor should be inferred.

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Alderman, A.K., Hawley, S.T., Morrow, M. et al. Receipt of Delayed Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy: Do Women Revisit the Decision?. Ann Surg Oncol 18, 1748–1756 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-010-1509-y

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