Survival From Synchronous Bilateral Breast Cancer in Australia and New Zealand

Evidence of the prognostic significance of synchronous bilateral compared with unilateral breast cancer is available from a number of studies (Gollamudi et al., 1997; Heron et al., 2000; Kollias et al., 2001; Newman et al., 2001; Jobsen et al., 2003; Polednak, 2003; Tousimis, 2005; Beckmann et al., 2011). While results vary, most indicate that synchronous bilateral breast cancers (SBBC) have either an equivalent or moderately poorer survival compared with unilateral cases. The prognostic characteristics of SBBC may be a relevant consideration when planning adjuvant therapies and frequency of follow-up medical surveillance, although generally accepted protocols that take account of bi-laterality are not yet available (Heron