Clinical significance of breast-conserving surgery for early breast cancer and its impact on patient quality of life

Purpose: To explore the clinical significance of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for early breast cancer (BC) and its impact on the patient quality of life (QoL). Methods: This retrospective analysis included 156 cases with early BC in the Weihai Municipal Hospital from August 2013 to January 2015. The patients were divided into two groups: 82 patients in the BCS group and 74 patients in the traditional radical surgery group as control group. Length of hospitalization, survival rate, metastasis rate, recurrence rate, surgical complications and QoL questionnaire within two years were compared between groups. Results: There was no difference in the survival rate, recurrence rate, and metastasis rate within 2 years between the BCS and the control group (p>0.05). However, the cosmetic ef-fect, the amount of intraoperative blood loss, average drainage flow volume, duration of surgery and hospitalization, size of incision and infection rate on incision area after surgery were all lower in the BCS group. The QoL and anxiety level were better in the BCS group than in the control group. Conclusions: BCS has a positive impact on patient QoL, and it also presents more advantages in relation to surgical complications and hospitalization compared to traditional radical BC surgery. With the pursuit of aesthetics by women, patients have higher requirements for surgical methods. BCS is worth of further application in the treatment of early BC.