Intra-operative Radiation Therapy versus Whole Breast External Beam Radiotherapy: A Comparison of Patient-Reported Outcomes

Introduction. This project sought to compare patient-reported outcomes between patients who received intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT) and those who qualified for IORT but received whole-breast external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) following breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Methods. Three scales from the BREAST-Q Breast Cancer BCT Module Version 2.0 questionnaire were used to collect patient-reported outcomes regarding post-operative physical well-being of the chest, post-operative satisfaction with breast cosmesis and post-operative adverse effects of radiation. Results. Patients who received EBRT travelled farther on average than patients who received IORT to complete treatment. Respondents who received IORT reported better physical well-being of the chest than those who received EBRT. Regression reveals that the respondent’s age was the determining factor in the difference between IORT and EBRT post-operative physical well-being scores, where younger patients report poorer well-being. There was no difference in patient-reported outcomes regarding post-operative satisfaction with breast cosmesis or adverse effects of radiation. Conclusions. This study suggests that patients who received IORT report better physical well-being of the chest than patients who received EBRT. There appears to be a relationship between age and physical well-being of chest. This study suggests that there is no difference in patient-reported outcomes concerning post-operative satisfaction with breast cosmesis or post-operative adverse effects of radiation between patients who received IORT and those who received EBRT