Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Breast Cancer Surgery

The purpose of this narrative review is to provide a general overview of the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that are commonly used in oncological breast surgery.

We found 11 PROMs in four different areas of breast cancer surgery, including quality of life, breast-conserving therapy, mastectomy, and postmastectomy breast reconstruction. These PROMs differed in the number of items and specific measures assessed.

PROMs are essential in assessing the impact of the illness and treatment modalities from the breast cancer patient perspective. Numerous PROMs have been developed for breast cancer treatment and surgery, each with strengths and weaknesses. Of the breast cancer PROMs available, providers and researchers need to select the most appropriate PROMs to address their patients’ concerns or to answer particular research questions. In choosing a PROM for the breast cancer patient, it is critical to consider type of surgery (breast-conserving therapy, mastectomy, and breast reconstruction) and the specific measure of interest (i.e., body image, symptoms, and function).