New perspectives on health disparities in breast cance...(eipt of lymph node assessment among earl...),Health
eipt of lymph node assessment among early stage female breast cancer patients, Abstract no. A-65:
Examining nearby lymph nodes while a woman is undergoing surgery for early stage breast cancer is a recommended practice to determine whether the cancer has spread, although there are valid clinical reasons to omit this procedure. However, researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) have found that 11 percent of almost 200,000 patients in a national sample of individuals with cancer did not undergo the procedure, and these women were significantly more likely to be elderly or African-American, have no health insurance or live in an area whose residents have a low level of education.
The findings are concerning because they suggest clinical factors may not be the primary basis for decisions on breast cancer care for some disadvantaged patients, as they should be, researchers say.
We found that significant disparities exist in who received axillary lymph node assessment, and without this procedure, an oncologist cannot appropriately stage a womans cancer and determine optimal therapy, said Michael Halpern, M.D., Ph.D., strategic director of Health Services Research for the ACS.
Investigators specifically found that women without insurance were 24 percent less likely to receive the lymph node assessment compared to those with private insurance. Women who lived in areas with low levels of education were 13 percent less likely than those from high education areas, and African-American patients were 10 percent less likely to have the procedure than white patients.
They also found that age was a huge factor in who received a lymph node assessment: women age 73 or older were three times less likely to receive the procedure than were patients age 51 or younger, researchers said.
Standard practice guidelines for axillary node dissection during lumpectomy or mastectomy surgery specify when this procedure can b
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| Contact: Greg Lester greg.lester@aacr.org 267-646-0554 American Association for Cancer Research Source:Eurekalert |
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