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Invited Commentary
January 2018

Communication as the Key to Breast Conservation

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis Missouri
JAMA Surg. 2018;153(1):36. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.3435

We have seen a surge in contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) despite data demonstrating no survival advantage for average-risk women.1,2 This is often driven by patient preferences and their (incorrect) belief that CPM improves outcomes.3 Surgeons exert a significant influence on our patients’ final surgical decisions, educating women eligible for breast-conserving therapy (BCT) on various treatment options, one of which is mastectomy with CPM. Do we convey our individual biases, separate from the patient at hand, along with the facts? The answer is yes.

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