Preoperative reference values for breast cancer patients using the BREAST-Q.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The BREAST-Q is crucial for evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQL) in breast cancer patients.
• Current data interpretation is hindered by a lack of established reference values specific to newly diagnosed patients.
• This study addresses this gap by providing normative data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish preoperative reference values for the BREAST-Q in a cohort of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
• To enable more accurate interpretation of HRQL data for this population.
• To investigate the impact of patient characteristics on HRQL outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 315 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients using BREAST-Q modules for mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery.
• Calculated mean and standard deviation scores for key HRQL scales.
• Utilized multiple linear regression to analyze the influence of age, BMI, and ASA classification on HRQL.

Main Results:

• Physical well-being of the chest was significantly lower than normative values (p < 0.001).
• Higher BMI correlated with lower psychosocial well-being, sexual well-being, and satisfaction with breasts (p ≤ 0.007).
• Younger patients reported diminished physical well-being of the chest (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Established the first preoperative reference values for the BREAST-Q in breast cancer patients.
• This dataset facilitates precise evaluation of HRQL in this specific patient group.
• Findings highlight the influence of BMI and age on key HRQL domains.