Preventive Surgery for Breast Cancer

Many women who undergo a mastectomy for
cancer in one breast and choose to have their other, healthy breast removed as
a preventive measure are extremely satisfied with the results, researchers
report.

"The majority of women felt it gave them a sense of control," says
researcher Anne Rosenberg, MD, a breast cancer surgeon at Kimmel
Cancer Center at Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

"They had low anxiety and depression scores. And they were particularly proactive
about instituting healthy lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking ," she tells WebMD.

The procedure is called a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. The
findings were presented here at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS)
Ninth Annual Meeting.

Incoming ASBS President Shawna Willey, MD, director of the Betty Lou
Ourisman Breast Health Center at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington
D.C., says that the procedure "is a reasonable option" for women
undergoing mastectomy.

"The fact that they already have had cancer in one breast puts them at
high risk of developing cancer in the other breast," she tells WebMD.
"They're motivated because they don't want to go through the fear of having
another breast
cancer diagnosis ."

Rosenberg says that better breast reconstructive techniques are a major
reason why more women are opting for the procedure. "They can choose
contralateral mastectomy and have both breasts reconstructed at the same
time."

Women's motivations need further study, she says.

Thirty-five women who chose to have contralateral prophylactic mastectomy
responded to the research survey. Nearly all indicated the highest level of
satisfaction with the decision for the procedure.

Low Recurrence Rate

Early results from another study presented at the meeting suggest that that
the procedure lowers the risk of cancer in the other breast.

Min Yi, MD, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston, and colleagues reviewed the outcomes of more than 500 women who had
contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. In the three years after the procedure,
none of the women developed cancer in the area where the healthy breast was
removed.

Rosenberg says the findings are reassuring, but the women "really have
to be followed for 10 or 20 years" before any firm conclusions can be
drawn.

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By Charlene Laino
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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