When is contralateral mastectomy warranted in unilateral breast cancer?

Abstract

Contralateral mastectomy, in the setting of unilateral breast cancer, may only offer a survival benefit in selected patients. In fact, most women with a unilateral breast cancer will never develop a contralateral breast cancer. Despite this, there is a rapidly increasing trend of patients undergoing contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. The Society of Surgical Oncology has provided relative clinical indications for this prophylactic procedure; however, there are other clinical and more important patient factors that are relevant to the decision. In this article, we discuss the indications for this controversial procedure and also explore the patient’s motivation to undergo this preventative measure. Nevertheless, the decision to perform a contralateral mastectomy should include a multidisciplinary team approach in conjunction with a patient who has been appropriately informed regarding the risks, benefits and alternatives of this procedure.

Keywords::

• contralateral mastectomy
• prophylactic mastectomy
• risk-reduction surgery
• survival
• unilateral breast cancer

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.