A double mastectomy to beat breast cancer will not improve chances of survival, study reveals

A new clinical investigation has revealed whether undergoing double mastectomy, as Angelina Jolie did, increases women's chances of surviving breast cancer.

A new clinical investigation has revealed that undergoing a double mastectomy does not increase the chances of surviving breast cancer. Picture: AFP

The double mastectomy, undertaken by some breast cancer patients as a precautionary measure against the disease, provides no advantage to sufferers when it comes to their survival, a new study has found.

The findings, published in JAMA Oncology, are based on analysis of more than 660,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer during the years 2000 and 2019.

Those opting for a bilateral or double mastectomy — the removal of both breasts, even if only one is affected by cancer — were shown to have no advantage over those who had a less final lumpectomy, or a single mastectomy, People reported.

The full findings can be read here.

A new study has revealed ‘paradoxical’ findings about double mastectomies. Picture: Supplied

The two-decade study found that bilateral mastectomy was associated with a statistically significant reduction of contralateral breast cancer risk but not breast cancer mortality.

It showed comparable death rates in all three groups: 8.5 per cent for lumpectomies, 9 per cent for mastectomies and 8.5 per cent for double mastectomies.

“If you get a contralateral breast cancer, your risk of dying goes up. But preventing it doesn’t improve your survival,” said Dr Steven Narod at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital.

“That seems like a paradox,” Dr Narod, lead author of the study, noted.

Angelina Jolie. Picture: Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Christina Applegate. Picture: AFP

In addition to its lack of effectiveness in preventing breast cancer spreading from one breast to the other, having a double mastectomy can lower quality of life, according to the US National Institutes of Health.

However, there are cases where a range of experts say that the preventive measure is worth considering — for example, women testing positive for what’s known as the BRCA gene, which carries a higher risk, People reported.

In 2013, actress and producer Angelina Jolie had a prophylactic double mastectomy after undergoing genetic screening and learning that she had a significantly elevated risk of developing breast cancer due to mutation of the BRCA1 gene.

Actress Christina Applegate underwent a double mastectomy in 2008 after testing positive for the gene.

Olivia Munn revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Picture: AFP

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Australian women. While Australia has one of the best breast cancer survival rates in the world, the incidence rate of women and men being diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia is increasing, according to Breast Cancer Network Australia.

A screening mammogram is recommended for all women aged 50 to 74 by the Cancer Council

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, however, recommends that women at average risk for breast cancer start getting mammograms every two years at age 40 and continue until age 74.