Effects of Breast-Conserving Surgery Combined with Immediate Autologous Fat Grafting on Oncologic Safety, Satisfaction and Psychology in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose: Autologous fat grafting (AFG) is a technique that can improve the appearance of breasts in surgical patients. There are currently few studies on breast-conserving surgery (BCS) combined with immediate AFG, although we believe that it could achieve satisfactory effects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to observe the effects of BCS combined with immediate AFG on oncologic safety, satisfaction and psychology of breast cancer patients. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively collected the data of 85 breast cancer patients from February 2018 to October 2018. After screening, 40 patients in AFG group (AG, BCS combined with immediate AFG) and 40 patients in control group (CG, BCS alone) were finally included in the study. The primary outcomes were the survival, tumor recurrence and metastasis, and BREAST-Q score of patients. The secondary outcomes were short and long-term complications, degree of depression and anxiety of patients. Results: A total of 80 patients were included in the analysis. There was no significant difference in the clinicopathological data between the two groups ( P > 0.05). The average follow-up time of the two groups was 40.58± 2.630 and 40.28± 2.679 months. In the analysis of oncologic safety, no patients died in AG and 1 patient died in CG. In addition, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the overall recurrence rate and the distribution of recurrence types ( P > 0.05). As for satisfaction, the BREAST-Q score of AG was significantly higher than that of CG (57.85± 4.833 vs 51.93± 5.045, P < 0.001). In the secondary outcomes, there was no short-term complication specified in the study; in the long-term complications, the incidence of calcification in AG was not significantly higher than that in CG ( P =0.065). In the analysis of depression and anxiety, there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: BCS combined with immediate AFG can significantly improve patients’ satisfaction without increasing the risk of death and tumor recurrence. However, it does not seem to play a role in improving the conditions of depression and anxiety. Keywords: breast cancer, breast-conserving surgery, autologous fat grafting, oncologic safety, BREAST-Q, psychology