breast cancer awareness month: is it a waste of time?
TRANSCRIPT
Risk factors for breast cancer Correct responses in percent (%)
Sep 2012 Nov 2012
Being female 56 77
High alcohol consumption 41 54
High body mass index 50 41
Hormone replacement therapy 59 72
Contraceptive pill 59 79
Smoking 71 72
Family history 50 46
644 ABSTRACTS
P116. Day case mastectomy: Feasibility, length of hospital stay and
patient satisfaction
Sekhar Marla, Christopher McEvoy, Amtul Carmichael
Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, UK
Introduction: Increasing breast-conserving surgery and less axillary
surgery (sentinel node biopsy) have lead to a significant reduction in
average length of hospital stay (LOS). Over 30 percent of patients undergo
mastectomies and recent studies have shown day case/ one night stay to be
a safe approach. Having made changes to the surgical pathways for all
breast cancer patients, we assessed the LOS and feasibility of day case
mastectomy at our hospital.
Methods: All mastectomies with or without an axillary procedure per-
formed over the past 2 years were included. Patient demographics, type of
surgery, LOS and patient satisfaction (using a modified Quality of Recov-
ery-40 postal questionnaire) were assessed. Patients who underwent imme-
diate reconstruction were excluded.
Results: From January 2012 to November 2013, 217 women under-
went mastectomy. Median age was 71 (36-93) years. 85% (n¼185) under-
went surgery as day case/one night stay. 10% (n¼21) were discharged the
same day. Patient satisfaction results are awaited.
Table: Relationship between LOS and axillary procedure
Length of Stay (days)
Axillary Surgery 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 Total
None 4 7 1 12
Sentinel Node
Biopsy
8 84 4 1 97
Sampling 1 4 1 6
Clearance 8 68 10 3 4 3 1 1 98
Bilateral 1 3 4
Total 21 164 17 4 4 3 1 1 1 1 217
Free hand
biopsy
Image guided
biopsy
p Value
Total number (%) 413 (75%) 135 (25%)
Conclusions: With changes in the surgical pathway, majority of mas-
tectomy patients can be managed as day case/ one night stay irrespective of
axillary procedure performed. Results of patient satisfaction survey would
advise improvements in the pathway.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso.2014.02.116
Palpable lesions (total 451) 413 (92%) 38 (8%)
Median number of cores
taken per biopsy (range)
2
(1-8)
4
(1-10)
< 0.0001
Median number of days lapsed
between patient assessment
and core biopsy (range)
0
(0-50)
8
(0-42)
< 0.0001
Median number of days lapsed
between patient assessment
and result given (range)
7
(2-52)
16
(2-57)
< 0.0001
Sensitivity 400/413
(96.8%)
134/135
(99.2%)
0.19
P117. Breast cancer awareness month: Is it a waste of time?
Asad Parvaiz, Virginia Summerour, Brian Isgar
New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, UK
Introduction: Breast cancer awareness month (BCAM) is an annual
international health campaign every October to increase awareness of
the disease. We aimed to assess breast cancer risk awareness amongst hos-
pital staff with relevance to BCAM.
Methods: A short questionnaire of fifteen possible risk factors for
breast cancer was given to the hospital staff nurses. They were asked
to recognise these risk factors as yes/ no/ do not know. The survey
was carried out in two phases; phase 1 was Pre-BCAM, in the month
of September and the phase 2 was Post-BCAM, in the month of
November.
Results: A total of 73 hospital staff nurses were surveyed; 34 in
September 2012 and 39 in November 2012. A 100% response rate was
observed. Median correct response rate was 50% in Sep and 46% in
Nov with no statistically significant difference (p¼0.64) between the two
months.
A 33% increase in total ‘yes’ responses was observed in Nov (n¼320)
compared with Sep (n¼241). This increase in ‘yes’ responses in Nov was
similar for correct (37%) and incorrect (27%) replies with no statistical dif-
ference between the two (p¼0.089).
Conclusions: BCAM failed to increase hospital staff’s awareness of
breast cancer risk factors, paradoxically a decrease in risk recognition
was observed after the BCAM. Stronger strategies than just naming a
month for breast cancer are required to enhance public knowledge of the
disease.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso.2014.02.117
P118. Free hand breast core biopsies in a selected group are as good as
image guided biopsies
Asad Parvaiz, Ali Ismail, James Hall, Ehsan Rahman, Brian Isgar
New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, UK
Introduction: There has been an increasing trend towards image
guided core biopsy than free hand biopsy for symptomatic breast lesions.
We aimed to study our own practice.
Methods: All patients presenting to one stop breast clinic needing core
biopsies over a 24 month period under a single consultant were prospec-
tively included in this study. Information was collected regarding method
& number of biopsies, time delay between patient initial assessment, core
biopsy and results given.
Results: 548 consecutive breast core biopsies were performed over this
24 month period.
Conclusions: 75% of the total and 92% of the palpable lesion biopsies
have been performed free hand with no significant difference in diagnostic
sensitivity compared with image guided biopsies. In a selected group, free
hand biopsies provide the added advantage of early diagnosis and subse-
quent treatment.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso.2014.02.118