Breast‐conserving therapy: An alternative to optimal cosmetic outcome and comparable prognosis in synchronous bilateral breast cancer

Aim Our main purpose initially was to simple retrospectively analyze the current literature for publishing and comparative studies on synchronous bilateral breast cancer (SBBC) with unilateral breast cancer (UBC) or metachronous bilateral breast cancer (MBBC) post breast‐conserving therapy BCT, and furthermore gather data on impact of bilateralism in changes of overall survival (OS), disease‐free survival (DFS) and local recurrence rate (LCC) to reach a sensible conclusion. Patients and Methods We conducted a Medline database search for all studies reporting on SBBC patients who underwent BCT and comparison of this entity with UBC OR MBBC. Assessment of bilateralism as a prognostic factor and estimation of its impact on DFS, LCC and OS of SBBC patients still generates many contradictions in the literature. Comparison between relatively small entities of SBBC with UBC using retrospective studies or population‐based inquiries are the primary line of research. Results A worst prognostic effect or a downward tendency towards increased mortality rates for simultaneous occurrence of breast carcinomas compared to UBC patients is commonly supported by many studies. Clinical experiences of many physicians and data achieved from the majority of studies have suggested that application of breast‐conversing therapy for SBBC patients, even though appears to be a challenging alternative to mastectomy and has yielded better cosmetic outcome and similar DFS and OS. Conclusion Although the majority of studies report a more adverse survival outcome for SBBC patients, breast‐conserving therapy is a feasible surgical choice for this group of patients, as it is a suitable alternative to mastectomy.