Clinical course of 771 patients with bilateral breast cancer: characteristics associated with overall and recurrence-free survival.

Purpose: Despite numerous retrospective and case-control studies, risk factors related to overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in bilateral breast cancer are still being defined. The aim of our study was to describe tumor properties, patient characteristics, and method of cancer detection for a large cohort of patients with bilateral breast cancer and to assess the associations of these factors with OS and RFS.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at the University of Texas M.