Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Endoscopic Bilateral Nipple-sparing Mastectomy via a Single Axillary Incision with Immediate Pre-pectoral Implant-based Breast Reconstruction
Published on: May 17, 2024
Incidence and outcomes of contralateral breast cancers
Glenda Quan1, SuEllen J Pommier, Rodney F Pommier
1Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
Background:
The significance of a contralateral breast cancer is largely unknown, making prophylactic mastectomy controversial.
Methods:
Differences between stages of initial and contralateral cancers were determined by t test. Survival distributions were compared by log-rank analyses and compared with Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results data for unilateral cancers.
Results:
Metachronous contralateral cancers occurred at a rate of .13% per year and were of significantly lower stage. Metachronous cancers adversely impacted survival for patients with low-stage initial cancers, but the interval between cancers was less than 36 months. Synchronous tumors occurred in 2.3% of patients; survival was worse than for patients with metachronous cancers.
Conclusions:
Prophylactic mastectomy is unlikely to be beneficial because of the lower stages and low incidence of second cancers, even for patients with initial low-stage cancers.
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