Background and objectives: Over the last decade, researchers have noted an increase in the rate of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) across the United States despite the limited evidence on survival improvement associated with this surgery. Due to a lack of information on CPM in South Carolina, the authors of this study proposed to evaluate trends of different breast cancer surgery types with an emphasis on CPM rates.
Methods: A descriptive analysis was conducted regarding CPM in South Carolina among females who underwent surgery for breast cancer cases diagnosed from 2005-2013. The resulting data were compared over time with other type of surgeries performed. Data from the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry, a population-based cancer registry, were used to perform this analysis.
Results: Research revealed that 2,527 (7.41%) of females who were surgically treated for breast cancer underwent CPM. The rate increased from 4.21% in 2005 to 9.63% in 2013. Race differentials revealed that, for whites and blacks, the rates increased from 3.82% to 7.88% and from 0.3% to 1.57%, respectively. The non-Hispanic population CPM rate increased from 4.16% in 2005 to 9.61% in 2013; they represented 98.42% of the total number of CPMs performed. For Hispanics, the CPM rate increased from 9.68% in 2005 to 11.54% in 2013. The unilateral mastectomy rate decreased from 26.56% in 2005 to 23.99% in 2013. The breast-conserving surgery rate was steady.
Conclusion: The CPM rate increased in South Carolina for breast cancer cases diagnosed from 2005-2013 among blacks, whites, non-Hispanics, and Hispanics. Further research should be done to identify the risks factors for CPM among females diagnosed with breast cancer in South Carolina.
Keywords: bilateral mastectomy; breast cancer surgery; contralateral prophylactic mastectomy; double mastectomy; preventive mastectomy.