Health

Double mastectomy shows no survival benefit for most breast cancer patients, study says

By Mallika Marshall, MD

July 31, 2024 / 5:49 PM EDT / CBS Boston

Research finds undergoing double mastectomy may not improve breast cancer survival

BOSTON - A new study finds many women with breast cancer may be able to avoid undergoing a double mastectomy.

Many women diagnosed with breast cancer have to weigh their options, including whether to have a double mastectomy, where both breasts are removed, in an attempt to improve long-term survival. But a new study published in JAMA Oncology followed more than 650,000 women with breast cancer in one breast for up to 20 years and found that women who underwent double mastectomy were less likely to develop cancer in the other breast, but didn't live any longer, on average, than women who didn't undergo double mastectomy.

In other words, women who had a lumpectomy or a mastectomy on the affected side but kept their other breast did just as well from a survival benefit as women who had both breasts removed. They say this may not apply to women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes which puts them at much higher risk of breast cancer.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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