BRighteR
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Breast Reconstruction: InvestigatinG long-term clinical and cost-effectiveness in tHe National MasTectomyand BrEast Reconstruction Audit cohort
IRAS ID
276030
Contact name
Shelley Potter
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
The majority of the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year will be long-term cancer survivors but up to 40% will still require a mastectomy (removal of the breast). The loss of a breast may affect women’s well-being and in the UK, breast reconstruction is routinely offered to improve quality of life.
Decision-making for breast reconstruction, however, is complex. Reconstruction can be performed using implants or the patient’s own tissue from the back, abdomen or buttocks either at the time of mastectomy or at a later date, often after necessary cancer treatments have been completed. Each technique has different short-term risks and benefits such as the duration of recovery, number and position of scars and surgical complications. Patients and surgeons need to balance these factors against the long-term outcomes of different procedures to make fully informed decisions about surgery.
There is currently a shortage of evidence for patients and surgeons on which method of breast reconstruction after a mastectomy may be the best for patients in the long term. There is some evidence on the risks and benefits for each method of reconstruction during the next few years after the operation, but there is little evidence yet to say how patients will fare in the years further into the future.
The BRighteR study will change this. By using questionnaires to ask thousands of women who have had a mastectomy with or without breast reconstruction around 10 years ago how they are now, and by using hospital records to count how often they have had to go back to hospital for further surgery, information will become available on the long term outcomes of each type of breast reconstruction. This will help patients and surgeons make better informed decisions about breast reconstruction, and this will result in better outcomes for patients.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SW/0020
Date of REC Opinion
2 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion