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Breast cancer

Why do women opt for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy?

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 11, pages 443–444 (2014)Cite this article

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The decision of patients with breast cancer to have contralateral mastectomies is often related to their genetic risk. However, the increasing frequency of this surgical approach is also associated with social and psychological issues such as celebrity experiences and fear of contralateral breast cancer. Appropriate counselling may better inform patients' surgical choices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Breast Health Program, European Institute of Oncology, Via G. Ripamonti 435, Milan, 20141, Italy

    Aron Goldhirsch

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, IBCSG Statistical Center, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, 02215, MA, USA

    Shari Gelber

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  1. Aron Goldhirsch
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  2. Shari Gelber
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Correspondence to Aron Goldhirsch.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Goldhirsch, A., Gelber, S. Why do women opt for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 11, 443–444 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.116

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