Background: Post-oncological BC (breast cancer) has an increased cardiovascular risk due to the variation of some anthropometric parameters. This study investigates the differences between a quadrantectomy and a mastectomy on the body composition over time in presence of a breast prothesis.
Methods: A group of BC patients (n = 41 aged 56.6 ± 9.5 years; 15 mastectomy patients; and 26 quadrantectomy patients) were compared to controls (C) (n = 22 aged 46.5 ± 13.44 years). Through bioimpedance analysis (Akern-BIA 101), the body mass index (BMI), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW), body cell mass (BCM), fat mass (FM), free fat mass (FFM), and angle phase (PA) were compared within each group and between different groups using the Student's Test T.
Results: The BC group showed lower values of FFM and TBW compared to C. The FFM was significantly (p = 0.04) lower in those with quadrantectomy. The right hemisome of the quadrantectomy has increased values of FFM, BCM (p = 0.04) and TBW compared to the counter-lateral hemisome, and FM values (p = 0.0008) lower than the counter-lateral. The hemisome with intervention has increased values of FM and ECW compared to the counter lateral, as well the FFM, BCM, TBW, and PA.
Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that non-conservative surgical treatment (mastectomy) is associated with a better BIA profile without any substantial impact of breast implants in the body composition analysis. The awareness of a severe diseases could play a role to ameliorate lifestyle; however, further studies will be necessary to support this theory.
Keywords: body composition; breast cancer; mastectomy.