BREAST-Q Measurement of the Patient Perspective in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery: A Systematic Review

Since BREAST-Q was developed in 2009, it has been widely used by clinicians and researchers to capture information regarding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient satisfaction related to breast surgery. Yet clinical guidelines regarding the use of BREAST-Q for assessment of success of surgery in women with breast cancer remain limited. To maximize the benefits of using BREAST-Q to inform clinical decision making, this systematic review aimed to identify and appraise current evidence on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) assessed by BREAST-Q associated with breast oncoplastic surgery.

A detailed search strategy was implemented and electronic databases searched include PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Review was limited to peer-reviewed studies published in English from 2009 to January 2018. Any interventional and observational studies that used BREAST-Q to assess PROs in the assessment of breast oncoplastic surgery were included.

Fifty-four peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria. Fifty-three studies were observational, 1 study was interventional. Current comparative studies using BREAST-Q indicated that abdominal flap, buttock flap, or thigh flap reconstruction offered highest satisfaction with breast; contralateral prophylactic mastectomy with immediate reconstruction offered higher levels of satisfaction with breast, but poor postsurgical physical well-being. Silicone implant and no radiation therapy offered higher level satisfaction and HRQoL.

Current evidence showed that BREAST-Q can effectively measure patient's satisfaction and HRQoL in relation to different type of breast oncoplastic surgeries. BREAST-Q captured meaningful and reliable information from the patients' perspective and may be useful for clinical decision making.