To determine the quality of life of patients treated with one of three different types of surgery for breast cancer.

This was a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey completed by Chinese patients without active disease after at least 2 years of follow-up after breast cancer surgery.

This study totally included 139 breast cancer patients: 44(31.6%)had undergone modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction, 41(29.5%)had a quadrantectomy with axillary lymph node dissection, and 54(38.9%)had a modified radical mastectomy without reconstruction. The EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaires were used; their reliability was>0.82. Global health status(94.30±12.04, P＝0.028)and role functioning(85.16±17.23, P＝0.138)were highest in the quadrantectomy group. Pain score was highest in the modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction group(26.13±30.15, P＝0.042). The breast symptom score(22.56±22.30, P＝0.009)and body image perception(85.56±19.72, P＝0.025)were highest in the conservative treatment group. The overall health of patients given modified radical mastectomy without reconstruction was lower(72.61±20.89, P＝0.014)in women older than 50 years compared with younger women.

The quadrantectomy with axillary lymph node dissection procedure had better acceptance, but the overall health status did not differ between groups. Overall health status is lower in women older than 50 years receiving a modified radical mastectomy without reconstruction.