Researchers Evaluate the Need for Breast Biopsies After Treatment for Early Breast Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The first comprehensive nationwide population-based study on breast biopsies during follow-up in women treated for early-stage breast cancer found a “relatively low” rate of biopsy, particularly among women treated with whole-breast irradiation. Led by Henry Kuerer, MD, PhD, and colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the researchers concluded these insights, which were published in JAMA Surgery, offer quantitative evidence for discussions with patients about therapy planning and survivorship expectations.
“This is a genuine concern for patients,” emphasized Dr. Kuerer in a press release. “Many feel very anxious over the future need for biopsies and the potential of another diagnosis.”
The authors evaluated a cohort of more than 121,000 patients from 2 national databases: MarketScan, which consisted of about 41,000 patients with commercial insurance who were younger than age 65, and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare, a cohort of approximately 80,000 patients older than age 65. From January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2011, patients were diagnosed with incident invasive breast cancer (stages I–III).
The overall incidence of breast biopsy after 5 and 10 years was 14.7% and 23.4%, respectively, in the MarketScan cohort and 11.8% and 14.9%, respectively, in the SEER-Medicare cohort. Women treated with brachytherapy were more likely to undergo breast biopsy than women treated with whole-breast irradiation (24.0% vs 16.7% in the MarketScan cohort and 25.0% vs 15.1% in the SEER-Medicare cohort). Among the patients undergoing breast biopsy, 29.8% in the MarketScan cohort and 23.2% in the SEER-Medicare cohort had subsequent cancer treatment.
