ABSTRACT
A growing number of people with unilateral breast cancer have chosen to undergo contralateral prophylactic mastectomy in order to prevent the occurrence of second primary breast cancer and thus avoid associated treatment and death. Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy has been considered beneficial in high-risk populations, such as premenopausal BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. As a result, contralateral prophylactic mastectomy acceptance in patients with no such mutation is controversial. Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy can reduce the risk by up to 95%. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the risk of contralateral breast cancer and to make appropriate surgical treatment. A review of risk factors for contralateral breast cancer and the benefits of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy in patients with unilateral breast cancer is presented.