ACS: Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy May Not Extend Life

Decision model shows only six-month gain in women with early breast cancer without BRCA mutation
ACS: Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy May Not Extend Life

MONDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- A decision model shows that women with early breast cancer without a BRCA mutation who undergo contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) have a maximum gain in life expectancy of about six months, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons, held from Oct. 6 to 10 in Washington, D.C.

Pamela Rochelle Portschy, M.D., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues developed a decision-analytic Markov model to assess the effect of CPM on life expectancy in women with early breast cancer without a BRCA mutation.

The researchers found that gains in life expectancy for women undergoing CPM ranged from 0.12 to 0.52 years for stage I breast cancer and 0.08 to 0.31 years for stage II breast cancer. Greater benefit of CPM was observed in younger women and those with stage I and estrogen receptor negative disease.

"I think this decision model study will provide women who are considering these extensive operations with more accurate information about whether or not CPM is going to improve their survival," a coauthor said in a statement.

Abstract (subscription or payment may be required)
More Information

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
www.healthday.com