Question Does bilateral mastectomy for treatment of unilateral breast cancer reduce the 20-year risk of breast cancer mortality?
Findings This cohort study including 661 270 women with unilateral breast cancer who were closely matched by treatment type (lumpectomy, unilateral mastectomy, or bilateral mastectomy) and followed up for 20 years found that bilateral mastectomy was associated with a statistically significant reduction of contralateral breast cancer risk but not breast cancer mortality.
Meaning These findings indicating that contralateral mastectomy for unilateral breast cancer is an effective means of cancer prevention but does not reduce the risk of dying of breast cancer call into question the metastatic potential of a de novo contralateral cancer.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2821596
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