Bilateral breast carcinoma: prospective evaluation of factors assisting diagnosis

The impact of bilateral breast cancer on the prognosis of breast cancer: a comparative study with unilateral breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The clinical significance of bilateral breast cancer is unclear and its influence on prognosis is controversial. We assessed the impact of synchronous and metachronous bilateral breast cancer on the prognosis compared with unilateral breast cancer.

METHODS

Between January 1, 1960 and December 31, 2001, 1,214 women were treated for primary operable breast cancers. Thirteen (1.1%) had synchronous bilateral breast cancer; 33 (2.7%) had a metachronous contralateral breast cancer. We compared age at operation, menopausal status, clinical stage, tumor size and histology, lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and use of adjuvant chemotherapy or hormone therapy, and we analyzed the impact of these factors on recurrence and survival in the 46 patients with bilateral breast cancer and the 1,168 patients with unilateral breast cancer.

RESULTS

The 5-and 10-year disease-free survival rates, respectively, were 65% and 65% in metachronous cases, 85.7% and 64.3% in synchronous cases, and 77.9% and 72.1% in unilateral cases. There was no significant difference in overall survival among the three groups. On multivariate analysis, metachronous bilaterality, tumor size, lymph node status and adjuvant hormone therapy were each independent risk factors for recurrence, whereas bilaterality of breast cancer did not influence overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that metachronous bilateral breast cancer is associated with shorter disease-free survival than synchronous bilateral or unilateral breast cancer, although overall survival does not differ among the 3 groups. Patients with metachronous bilateral breast cancer should be followed particularly closely in order to detect recurrence early and maximize quality of life.

Incidence and Detection of Contralateral Breast Cancer

In this study we estimated the efficacy of contralateral breast biopsy as a subsidiary method of early detection of bilateral breast cancer. We performed blind biopsies in the upper outer quadrant of the opposite breast in 195 patients undergoing surgical treatment for primary breast cancer. The histologic examination of the biopsy specimens showed 12 malignant lesions, which accounts for an incidence of 6.1%. In detail, we had two infiltrating ductal cancers, two infiltrating lobular cancers, three ductal in situ cancers, and five lobular in situ cancers. The overall incidence of invasive disease was 2.05%. We concluded that contralateral breast biopsy should be reconsidered as a method for enhancing early detection of contralateral breast cancer in high-risk groups, especially when it meets the emotional needs of patients. Permission given, it is included in the main surgical treatment of patients, avoiding the cost and complications of anesthesia, and it is cosmetically acceptable, without being an emotional burden for the woman.

Clinical epidemiology of bilateral breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The clinical epidemiology of bilateral breast cancer was assessed in a population-based study from Saarland, Germany.

METHODS

Clinical aspects of breast cancer, including age and tumor spread at diagnosis and survival, were compared between 251 patients with bilateral breast cancer and all 9585 patients with a first diagnosis of breast cancer registered with the population-based cancer registry of Saarland, Germany, between 1968 to 1987.

RESULTS

The patients with bilateral breast cancer were on average considerably younger at the time of diagnosis of the first breast cancer than the total group of patients with breast cancer (mean age, 55.7 years versus 60.5 years). Overall, the distribution of tumor spread at diagnosis of the second breast cancers was similar to the corresponding distribution of first breast cancers, but a much less favorable distribution was observed among second breast cancers that developed in women younger than 50 years of age. The survival rates after diagnosis of a second breast cancer were much worse than the survival rates after a first breast cancer diagnosis. These differences persisted after control for important covariates such as age and tumor spread and were more pronounced if the first tumor was diagnosed in an advanced stage and if the time interval between diagnosis of the first and second cancers was short. Nevertheless, tumor spread at diagnosis of the second cancer was by far the most important predictor of survival among patients with bilateral breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The differences in clinical aspects of first and second breast cancers should be considered in clinical management of patients with breast cancer. Further research is required to explain these differences.

Bilateral breast carcinoma: 28 years' experience

From 1959 to 1987, a total of 1,182 histologically proven breast cancer patients were followed. Of these, 48 (4.06%) with bilateral breast carcinoma were reviewed. Eight patients (0.68%) had simultaneous breast carcinomas and the remaining 40 (3.38%) had nonsimultaneous breast carcinomas. The period between the development of the first and second primary carcinoma ranged from 17 to 200 months (mean, 86 months). The second primary carcinoma was found symmetrically located with the first primary carcinoma in only 34.5% of the cases. No significant differences were observed between the bilateral carcinoma patients and the unilateral carcinoma patients with respect to pregnancy, delivery, family history, and the size and localization of the carcinomas. Axillary metastasis was seen in a higher percentage of the second primary carcinomas (48% versus 37.5%). It was observed that the shorter the time interval between the presentation of the carcinomas, the shorter the survival.

Bilateral breast carcinoma treated with definitive irradiation

From 1977 to 1987, 30 women were treated with definitive irradiation following breast-conserving surgery for bilateral carcinoma of the breast for a total of 60 treated breasts. Eleven women presented with concurrent bilateral carcinoma, and 19 women had sequential bilateral carcinoma. Pathologic axillary staging was performed in 51 of the 60 treated breasts. A total dose of greater than or equal to 6,000 cGy was delivered from breast tangential irradiation plus an electron or Iridium boost to 95% (57/60) of the treated breasts. A third field was used to treat the regional axillary and supraclavicular lymph nodes bilaterally in three women (10%) and unilaterally in ten women (33%). Tangential fields were matched at midline in 17 patients, and in ten patients, the tangential fields overlapped by up to 3 cm on skin. In two patients, the tangential fields were matched to an internal mammary nodal field, and in one patient, tangential fields were matched to a mediastinal field given for postoperative radiotherapy for lung cancer. For the overall group of 30 patients, the 5-year actuarial NED survival following treatment of the first breast cancer was 79%, and the 5-year actuarial relapse-free survival was 72%. For the 60 treated breasts, the 5-year actuarial local failure rate was 6%. An analysis of complications and cosmesis showed results similar to previously reported results for unilateral breast cancer. These results show that definitive irradiation following breast-conserving surgery for patients with bilateral breast cancer can technically be delivered with low complication rates and with acceptable survival and local control rates. Definitive irradiation should be considered as an acceptable alternative treatment to bilateral mastectomy for appropriately selected patients with concurrent or sequential bilateral early stage carcinoma of the breast.