Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2026; 16(8): 118378
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.118378
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.118378
Association between postoperative anxiety and depression symptoms and willingness for breast reconstruction in breast cancer patients
Xiao-Hu Sun, Xu-Chen Cao, The First Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, Tianjin Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin 300060, China.
Wen-Fu Shi, Department of Oncology and Hematology, Tianjin Beichen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Tianjin 300400, China
Co-first authors: Xiao-Hu Sun and Wen-Fu Shi.
Author contributions: Sun XH and Shi WF contributed equally to this work and share co-first authorship. Sun XH was responsible for study conception, data collection, and statistical analysis; Shi WF contributed to data collection and manuscript writing; Cao XC supervised the study design, critically revised the manuscript, and gave final approval of the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project, No. 32270810; and the Tianjin Key Medical Discipline Construction Project, No. TJYXZDXK-3-003A.
Institutional review board statement: Approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital (No. EK2023375).
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was waived due to the retrospective design and use of anonymized data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Xu-Chen Cao, PhD, Chief Physician, The First Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, Tianjin Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University, Ministry of Education, West Huan-Hu Road, Ti Yuan Bei, Hexi District, Tianjin 300060, China. caoxuchen0907@126.com
Received: January 23, 2026
Revised: February 26, 2026
Accepted: March 27, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 176 Days and 23 Hours
Revised: February 26, 2026
Accepted: March 27, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 176 Days and 23 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Postoperative anxiety and depression are highly prevalent among breast cancer patients after total mastectomy and are strongly associated with reduced willingness for breast reconstruction. This study demonstrates that anxiety and depression negatively affect patients’ cognition and attitudes toward breast reconstruction, which in turn diminishes reconstruction intention. Patients with anxiety-depression comorbidity show the most pronounced decline. These findings highlight mental health as a modifiable factor in reconstruction decision-making and underscore the importance of integrating psychological assessment and intervention into routine breast cancer care to improve reconstruction acceptance and overall quality of life.