Disparities in contralateral prophylactic mastectomy use among women with early-stage breast cancer

Abstract

Mastectomy: White women more likely to choose double breast removal Racial disparities exist in the desire of American women with early-stage breast cancer to surgically remove their healthy breast tissue. Younji Kim and colleagues from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, surveyed more than 2100 middle-aged women from Pennsylvania and Florida who were newly diagnosed with early-stage cancer in one breast. They asked about the women’s medical and family histories, perceived risk of further disease, and assorted demographic variables. After adjusting for clinical factors and family history, white women were more than twice as likely to undergo contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, in which both breasts are surgically removed, than were black women. The authors surmise that the racial discrepancy may result from perceptual differences among populations about the benefits of bilateral mastectomies on future cancer risk, although more research is needed into the decision-making process.