No Cancer Occurrences in 10-year Follow-up after Prophylactic Nipple-sparing Mastectomy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Prophylactic nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is increasingly utilized for breast cancer risk reduction.
• Limited long-term data exists regarding the efficacy of NSM in preventing breast cancer.
• Assessing long-term outcomes is crucial for guiding clinical practice and patient counseling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term incidence of breast cancer in patients who underwent prophylactic NSM.
• To analyze the occurrence of breast cancer in a cohort with a median follow-up of 10 years.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 228 patients undergoing 284 prophylactic NSMs between 2006 and 2019.
• Inclusion of patient demographics, genetic mutation status (BRCA1/2), operative details, and pathology findings.
• Screening of postoperative records for cancer occurrence with descriptive statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Median follow-up was 120.5 months.
• 10% of prophylactic mastectomy specimens revealed cancer, predominantly ductal carcinoma in situ or atypical lobular hyperplasia.
• No locoregional breast cancer recurrence was observed in the cohort during the study period.

Conclusions:

• The long-term breast cancer occurrence rate following prophylactic NSM in this cohort is negligible.
• Continued patient surveillance is essential to establish definitive lifetime risk assessments post-NSM.
• Findings support the efficacy of NSM in cancer prevention, warranting further long-term investigation.