Medical & Surgical Urology
Open Access
ISSN: 2168-9857
+44-77-2385-9429
ISSN: 2168-9857
+44-77-2385-9429
Lakmali Anthony
Australia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Med Surg Urol
Background: Breast cancer (BC) is usually managed with surgical resection. Many outcomes traditionally used to define successful operative management such as resection margin do not adequately reflect patients’ experience. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) such as Health-Related Quality of life (HRQoL) provide a means by which impact of surgery for cancer can be reported in a patient-centred way. This exploratory cross-sectional study aims to; (1) describe postoperative HRQoL in patients who underwent primary resection in a regional Australian hospital; (2) describe prevalence of anxiety, depression and clinically significant fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in this population; and (3) identify demographic, psychosocial, disease and treatment factors associated with poorer self-reported HRQoL. Methods: Patients who had resection of BC in a regional Australian hospital between 2015 and 2022 were eligible. Participants were asked to complete a survey instrument designed to assess HRQoL, as well as validated instruments that assess several other psychosocial PROs hypothesised to be associated with HRQoL; emotional distress, FCR, social support, dispositional optimism, body-image and spirituality. Results: Forty-six patients completed the survey. Clinically significant levels of FCR and emotional distress were present in this group. Many domains of HRQoL was significantly worse than an Australian reference population for BC. Demographic and disease factors associated with poor HRQoL included smoking and ongoing adjuvant systemic therapy. Primary operation was not associated with HRQoL for breast cancer. All psychosocial factors measured were associated with HRQoL. Conclusion: HRQoL is an important outcome in surgery for both research and clinical practice. This study provides an overview of the quality of life in a regional Australian population of postoperative breast cancer patients and factors that affect it. Understanding HRQoL and awareness of patients particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes should be used to aid the informed consent and shared decision making process between surgeon and patient.
Lakmali Anthony is a surgical registar at the Northern Health, Australia. Her interests are in general surgery and vascular surgery. She has a special interest in health care inequalities that affect patients living in rural and regional areas.