• Posted March 5, 2025

Lumpectomy Preserves Sexual Well-Being Among Breast Cancer Patients

Opting for a lumpectomy during breast cancer treatment can protect a woman’s future sex life, a new study suggests.

Breast-conserving therapy (BCT) is associated with better sexual well-being, compared to mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction, researchers found.

In fact, sexual well-being improved among lumpectomy patients within six months of their surgery, according to findings published in the March issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

“Patients undergoing BCT scored consistently higher on a measure of sexual well-being, compared to total mastectomy and breast reconstruction," senior researcher Dr. Jonas Nelson, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said in a news release.

As many as 85% of breast cancer patients report sexual dysfunction, but few receive any medical guidance for preserving their sex lives during and after treatment, researchers said in background notes.

Many breast cancer patients opt for a lumpectomy that removes the tumor but leaves the rest of the breast intact.

But others must have their entire breast removed, in a procedure called mastectomy, and then, if desired, have their breast reconstructed through plastic surgery.

For this study, researchers analyzed sexual well-being scores for nearly 16,000 women who underwent breast cancer surgery between 2010 and 2022.

Of those women, about 54% underwent lumpectomy and 46% had a mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction, researchers said.

Before surgery, the two groups had similar average scores for sexual well being -- 62 out of 100 for those opting for lumpectomy, and 59 for those receiving a mastectomy and reconstruction.

By six months after surgery, sexual well-being among lumpectomy patients had increased to 66 and remained around that level for at least five years, results show.

The average score among mastectomy patients was 49 at six months post-surgery, and it improved to 53 as time passed, researchers said.

Overall, scores averaged nearly 8 points higher in the lumpectomy group, researchers found.

"For breast cancer patients who are eligible for either BCT or mastectomy, BCT may be the superior choice for patients who wish to maintain their sexual well-being," the researchers concluded in their study.

Researchers also found that few women -- about 4% of the lumpectomy group and little more than 5% of those receiving a mastectomy -- received any sexual medicine consultation, even though it was available from a dedicated service through their cancer center.

“The findings highlight the need for increased attention to sexuality when discussing breast cancer treatment options,” Nelson said.

"Although many patients have low sexual health, most do not receive sexual medicine consultation, suggesting an opportunity for providers to improve breast cancer patients' sexual health,” he concluded.

More information

The National Cancer Institute has more on surgical options for breast cancer.

SOURCE: Wolters Kluwer Health, news release, Feb. 26, 2025