Objective:

To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) specifically in breast cancer patients post-surgery undergoing different surgical procedures over a long-term follow-up.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• Patients undergoing DIEP/FCI reconstruction reported improved quality of life at 5 months post-surgery despite higher complication rates (p-value needed).
• Significant differences in age and previous surgeries were noted among the groups, with the mastectomy group being older (specific statistics needed).
• A total of 204 questionnaires were returned at the 5-month follow-up (T2), with a loss of 30 patients from initial enrollment.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest that while DIEP/FCI reconstruction has a higher complication rate, it may lead to better HRQoL outcomes compared to mastectomy and implant-based reconstruction, influencing surgical decision-making.

Limitations:

• The study is limited by its single-center design and potential biases in patient selection, which may affect the results.
• A significant loss to follow-up may affect the generalizability of the results, necessitating caution in interpretation.

Conclusion:

The interim analysis indicates that autologous reconstruction can enhance quality of life shortly after surgery, providing valuable insights for surgical decision-making in breast cancer treatment and highlighting areas for future research.

Source

Based on findings from:

Assessing Quality of Life Post-Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Findings from an Interim Analysis of the REKO 001 Three-Arm Clinical Trial with a Decade of Follow-Up

B. Boeer, J. Kandzi, B. Schoenfisch, M. Marx, S. Guergan, I. Gruber, C. Roehm, G. Helms, A. Hartkopf, S. Y. Brucker, M. Hahn. Archives Of Gynecology And Obstetrics, 2026.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-026-08387-2

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