Author Interviews, CMAJ / 17.09.2013
Breast Cancer in Young Women: Decisions that Affect Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Shoshana M. Rosenberg, ScD, MPH
Researcher, Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) have been increasing among all breast cancer patients, however this trend has been most pronounced among the youngest women with breast cancer. Because of this trend, we sought to better understand why the youngest women - those diagnosed at age 40 or younger - were deciding to have this surgery.
Many women not considered "high-risk", e.g., those without a cancer pre-disposing mutation, cited a desire to prevent the breast cancer from spreading as well as a desire to improve survival as reasons for undergoing the procedure, indicating they overestimate the benefit of having this surgery, as CPM does not affect these outcomes. While CPM does reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in the unaffected breast, in women who are not considered "high-risk", this risk is relatively low, however many women overestimated this risk as well. (more…)