History and actual indications of prophylactic mastectomy

A. Savescu, I. Balescu, N. Bacalbasa

Abstract: Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of death in women worldwide. Although in the last few decades attention was focused on discovering the most efficient method to prevent this malignancy, it seems that the only potential way do decrease the breast cancer risk is performing a prophylactic mastectomy. This type of surgical approach is efficient especially in breast cancer gene ½ mutation carriers as well in patients who had been already submitted to surgery for contralateral breast cancer. This is a literature review regarding the history, the types of performed surgical procedures and the actual indications of prophylactic mastectomy.
DOI:10.18643/gieu.2015.154

Keywords: breast cancer, prophylactic mastectomy, contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.