RECENT STUDY SUGGEST THAT BREAST CANCER SURVIVAL RATES MAY NOT BE IMPROVED WITH DOUBLE MASTECTOMY
A recent study performed by researchers at MD Cancer Center in Houston found that preventive mastectomy is more than what is needed for most women diagnosed with breast cancer. The study did find, however, that survival rates increased with preventive mastectomy for a specific subset of breast cancer patients, as TIME magazine reports. Women under age 50, who had early stage cancer (stage I or II) and tumors that were negative for the estrogen receptor saw an increase in their chances of surviving to five years. Less than 10% of women fit this criteria, and the increase, 4.8%, was small as compared with women who did not have preventive mastectomy. Most women, of the 107,000 involved in the study, did not obtain a survival benefit from having the unaffected breast removed.
The results of the study will help women diagnosed with breast cancer to make a more informed decision when faced with the difficult options concerning whether to undergo a mastectomy not only to remove a cancerous breast, but also the other, unaffected breast as a preventive measure. Cancer detected in one breast has a tendency to spread to the other breast and studies have documented the the reduction in recurrence of cancer when both breasts are removed. This study is the first to connect this decision with the chances of survival.
