iBRA2

Overview

Each year, approximately 51,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, of which up to 40% may require a mastectomy. This may impact on a woman’s quality of life and body image and, in the UK, immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve outcomes.

Complication rates following immediate breast reconstruction may have a significant impact, as this may lead to the delay or omission of adjuvant chemo and/or radiotherapy. The clinical significance of these short delays remains unclear, but studies have demonstrated an adverse impact on recurrence free and overall survival. A 2013 meta-analysis suggests a 15% decrease in overall survival for every four week delay in the delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy.

iBRA-2 is a national multi centre prospective audit which aims to evaluate the impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to adjuvant therapy compared with mastectomy alone.

Objectives

The aims of the study are to evaluate

  • The rate of post-operative complications
  • The requirement of adjuvant chemotherapy / radiotherapy
  • Which patients experience of a delay to / or omission of their adjuvant therapy as a result of post-operative complications
  • The time to adjuvant therapyTo identify risk factors to identify patients who may experience a delay / or omission of adjuvant therapy due to post operative complications
  • Generate high quality data to inform patient and healthcare worker decision making

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients having a mastectomy for invasive cancer or DCIS with or without a breast reconstruction (of ANY type - implant-based, pedicle or free flap) have been included in the study.

Patients having risk reducing surgery, and patients not having a total mastectomy have been excluded.