Current Status of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy: Investigating Structural Racial Disparity

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) remains a personal decision, influenced by psychosocial factors, including cosmesis and peace of mind. Although use of CPM is disproportionately low among Black patients, the degree to which these disparities are driven by patient- vs hospital-level factors remains unknown.

Patients undergoing mastectomy for nonmetastatic ductal or lobular breast cancer were tabulated using the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2020. The primary endpoint was receipt of CPM. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed with interaction terms between Black-serving hospital (BSH) status and patient race to evaluate associations with CPM. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate long-term survival.

Of 597,845 women studied, 70,911 (11.9%) were Black. After multivariable adjustment, Black race (adjusted odds ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.67) and treatment at BSH (adjusted odds ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.85) were independently linked to lower odds of CPM. Although predicted probability of CPM was universally lower at higher BSH, Black patients faced a steeper reduction compared with White patients. Receipt of CPM was linked to improved survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.84, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.86), whereas Black race was associated with a greater HR of 10-year mortality (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.17).

Hospitals serving a greater proportion of Black patients are less likely to use CPM, suggestive of disparities in access to CPM at the institutional level. Further research and education are needed to characterize surgeon-specific and institutional practices in patient counseling and shared decision-making that shape disparities in access to CPM.