Impact of immediate breast reconstruction on breast cancer recurrence and survival

The practise of Immediate Breast Reconstruction (IBR) following mastectomy for primary breast cancer is being increasingly adopted. Here the impact of IBR on disease progression and survival was assessed following treatment for invasive breast cancer. 1697 consecutive patients received surgical treatment for operable primary breast cancer between January 1996 and December 2007. Overall, 691 (41%) received mastectomy of whom 136 (20%) underwent IBR (82 Latissimus Dorsi, 54 Subpectoral). The effect of IBR on overall survival, local and distant recurrence was analysed in all patients studied and also separately within subgroups defined by Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) scores. The median follow up of patients studied was 55 months (range 16–148). There was no difference between IBR and mastectomy alone in survival (p = 0.176), time to distant metastasis (p = 0.783) or local recurrence (p = 0.505), either overall or within Nottingham Prognostic groups.