Article Commentary: A Research Agenda for Appearance Changes Due to Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research

Special Issue-Commentary

Michelle Cororve Fingeret¹  Elisabeth K. Beahm²  Fatima Merchant³  Mia K. Markey⁴  Mugdha Dabeer⁴  Gregory P. Reece⁵ 

[1] Department of Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX.;Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX.;Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX.;Soft Imaging, League City TX.;The University of Texas Department of Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX.;The University of Texas Department of Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX.;Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX.;

关键词: breast cancer;    3D imaging of breast;    computer-assisted image analysis;    quality of life;   

DOI  :  10.4137/BCBCR.S784

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in the US. It is estimated that more than 180,000 American women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2008. Fortunately, the survival rate is relatively high and continually increasing due to improved detection techniques and treatment methods. However, maintaining quality of life is a factor often under emphasized for breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer treatments are invasive and can lead to deformation of the breast. Breast reconstruction is important for restoring the survivor's appearance. However, more work is needed to develop technologies for quantifying surgical outcomes and understanding women's perceptions of changes in their appearance. A method for objectively measuring breast anatomy is needed in order to help both the breast cancer survivors and their surgeons take expected changes to the survivor's appearance into account when considering various treatment options. In the future, augmented reality tools could help surgeons reconstruct a survivor's breasts to match her preferences as much as possible.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2008 SAGE Publications.