Decision Making Process and Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy

The increased rate of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) among women with early stage unilateral breast cancer has raised concerns particularly with the lack of evidence for a survival benefit related to the CPM procedure and with the low risk of developing contralateral breast cancer among women with early stage sporadic breast cancer. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study, using normative decision theory as the framework, was to assess the influence of the partner, physician, and media on the decision of women with unilateral breast cancer who decided to undergo CPM. Women with stage 0 to III early stage unilateral breast cancer ages 20-60 years old who underwent CPM at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the U.S. between January of 2010 and December of 2017 were surveyed on factors influencing their decision to undergo CPM. Logistic regression (binomial distribution with logit link) was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that partners, physicians, and media all had significant influence (p \u3c 0.05) on the decision-making process of women with unilateral breast cancer to undergo CPM. The findings of this study may inform policy by highlighting the need for decision aids, programs, or tools that help women with unilateral breast cancer make informed decisions that are evidence-based regarding the efficacy of CPM