MargEx (MARGin re-excision EXperience)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
MargEx (MARGin re-excision EXperience). The impact of margin re-excision: a qualitative study of patient experience.
IRAS ID
307324
Contact name
Alicia Skervin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's University of London and St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Most women with early breast cancer undergo breast conserving surgery (BCS) to remove their tumour whilst preserving the breast tissue. Unfortunately, in almost 1 in 5 cases the margins are not clear of disease and further surgery is required. The psychological, social and physical impact of this has not been formally researched.
Phenomenology seeks to understand what is perceived from the prospective of the individual experiencing it. Using a phenomenological approach, this single centre qualitative study aims to understand patient’s experience when undergoing reoperation to achieve clear margins following BCS for breast cancer.
This study is funded by the Breast Unit at St George’s Hospital, London. Twenty women will be recruited over one year. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted 3 weeks after the patient's reoperation. A focus group of professionals and patient representatives will convene to achieve a Delphi consensus on the interview questions. Ten open-ended questions will be asked to stimulate a 30-minute dialogue about their experience. The interviews will be audiotaped and transcribed into verbatim manuscripts. Using Hermeneutics phenomenology, the Researcher will record any emotions/thoughts provoked by the interview. These will be analysed to assess for researcher’s bias in interpreting the data.
The BREAST-Q Breast Conserving Module questionnaire will also be completed by participants. This validated patient reported outcome measure is used to measure health-related quality of life, patient satisfaction and experience with BCS.The data will be analysed using thematics. ‘Thematic analysis’ identifies, interprets and reports themes within the data. Codes and themes will be identified to understand patient’s experience in detail. Respondent validation will allow participants to read the themes and interpretations derived from their manuscript in order to validate and confirm their accuracy.
The findings will be published in a healthcare journal to facilitate improvements in patient care and cancer experience.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
22/NS/0124
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion