MIBREAST
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Impact of 3D Surface Imaging and Simulation on Shared Decision Making in Immediate Breast Reconstruction And the Measurement of the Effects of Radiotherapy
IRAS ID
308759
Contact name
Jennifer Rusby
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
A large proportion of patients requiring a mastectomy (removal of the breast) as part of cancer treatment or as a risk reducing strategy will opt for an immediate breast reconstruction (IBR). Breast cancer treatment has excellent survival rates; this means patients now live longer to experience the side effects of surgery and radiotherapy. There is a well-established correlation between patient satisfaction with post-operative appearance and psychological wellbeing. The goal of reconstruction is to achieve symmetry with the unoperated breast; however, this is often not possible with a single operation and as a result many patients require revision surgery.
Radiotherapy after surgery further complicates matters, as it is often not anticipated pre-operatively. Conveying the likely post-operative and post radiotherapy appearance to the patient the therefore often challenging.
Currently patients considering IBR are shown images of other patients who have had similar surgeries, however many feel that this is not helpful as it does not accurately reflect how they may look after surgery. 3D-surface imaging (3D-SI) and simulation can be used to demonstrate to the patient how they may look following reconstructive surgery.
The first part of the study consists of a randomised controlled trial investigating the difference in patient confidence in understanding post-op appearance in patients receiving the standard of care (2D images) and those viewing their own bespoke 3D simulations.
The second part of the study aims to use 3D-SI to develop a breast classification system. This will lead to a better understanding of breast shape and subsequently may improve surgical approaches and reduce the need for revision surgery.
The third part of the study aims to use 3D-SI to objectively quantify the effect of radiotherapy by comparing those patients receiving radiotherapy and those who do not.
We aim to recruit 300 patients over two years at both sites of the Royal Marsden.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
23/WA/0215
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion