Bilateral breast carcinoma: prospective evaluation of factors assisting diagnosis.

Bilateral primary breast cancers occur commonly enough to justify adoption of special pre- and post-initial therapy screening. A 13.2% incidence of bilateral breast carcinoma has been found in the breast cancer patients who presented to the Fox Chase Cancer Center with an operatively manageable primary in an arbitrarily defined 30-month period and who have been followed for at least 20 months thereafter. Of the 287 patients seen in those 30 months, 4.5% had synchronously detectable lesions. Xeroradiography is helpful in the initial and follow-up evaluation of the patient for detection of a second primary and may lead to the discovery of an earlier-stage lesion. A history of a family member having a breast cancer was shown to be significant, 26% and 24% for primary and secondary relatives, respectively, and warrant a special screening strategy. Recognition of these factors may lead to earlier detection of curable breast cancers.