52 The impact of the surgery for breast cancer in young women on their couple’s relationship

Objectives Breast cancer of young women is the most frequent solid cancer among women under 40. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the surgery for non-metastatic and operable breast cancer in young women on their couple’s relationship. Methods This is a prospective cohort-type study of 200 women under the age of 40 operated on for breast carcinoma between 2016 and 2019 in the department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Farhat Hached Teaching Hospital Sousse, Tunisia. Patients were stratified based on whether they underwent conservative (G1) or radical (G2) breast surgery. The patient‘s couple relationships were evaluated by The Locke and Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (MAT): a standardized psychometric assessment scale validated in Arabic. Results The two groups were comparable in terms of age and socio-economical characteristics of the patients and their spouses. The median tumor size at the time of cancer diagnosis was 3 cm (± 1.2) in G1 and 5.7 cm (± 1.4). The median MAT questionnaire score was 112 (± 31) in G1 and 124 (± 13) in G2 with p = 0.064. A couple dysfunction was found in 42% of G1 patients and 47% of G2 patients with a p = 0.136. Conclusion The breast surgery technique for breast cancer (conservative treatment versus mastectomy without reconstruction) does not influence the marital agreement in young Tunisian married women diagnosed and operated in for breast cancer before the age of 40.