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Breast surgeons' perceptions and attitudes towards contralateral prophylactic mastectomy
Author(s) -
Musiello Toni,
Bornhammar Emelie,
Saunders Christobel
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2012.06209.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anxiety , breast cancer , demographics , mastectomy , family medicine , perception , general surgery , cancer , psychiatry , demography , neuroscience , sociology , biology
Background The rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy ( CPM ) are increasing worldwide. This study investigated A ustralian and N ew Z ealand's breast surgeons' perceptions, knowledge and attitudes towards CPM , and explored if demographic characteristics of surgeons were associated with an increased tendency to recommend or perform CPM . Methods A cross sectional research design was employed, with breast surgeons completing a self‐report questionnaire. The questionnaire collected information including surgeons' perceptions on CPM in their clinical practice, their attitudes and knowledge of CPM and surgeons' demographic information. Results Eighty‐one of 220 (37%) breast surgeons contacted via B reast S urg ANZ participated in this study. Forty‐four per cent of surgeons perceived that the rates of CPMs they performed had increased over the last year. CPM rates were found to be unrelated to surgeons' age ( P = 0.773) or gender ( P = 0.941). The main reasons a surgeon recommended a CPM to patients included known BRCA+ mutation, family history of breast cancer and patient factors including fear and anxiety and a desire to avoid further breast cancer treatment. Conclusions Breast surgeons perceived that rates of CPM were increasing in their own clinical practice. CPM rates were unrelated to surgeon demographics including age and gender. While surgeons are aware of the objective risk factors that make performing a CPM advisable, they also report taking into account subjective factors, including patient fear and anxiety and a desire for breast symmetry when recommending a CPM .