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Does the breast cancer dollar make sense?
1Breast Evaluation Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
European Journal of Cancer (Oxford, England : 1990)
|January 1, 1992
Summary
Breast cancer care has advanced with new screening and treatments, but increased healthcare resource use shows weak evidence of improved outcomes, questioning long-term sustainability.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Health Services Research
- Public Health
Background:
- Breast cancer management has significantly evolved over the past decade.
- Innovations include widespread mammographic screening and breast-conserving surgeries.
- Adjuvant systemic therapies have also advanced breast cancer treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of recent advancements in breast cancer management on healthcare resource consumption.
- To assess the correlation between increased resource utilization and improvements in disease outcomes.
- To examine the socioeconomic implications of current breast cancer care trends.
Main Methods:
- Review of healthcare resource consumption data in breast cancer management.
- Analysis of clinical outcome data in relation to treatment modalities.
- Assessment of trends in mammographic screening, surgical approaches, and systemic therapies.
Main Results:
- Significant increases in healthcare resource consumption have accompanied therapeutic developments.
- Evidence linking increased resource use to improved disease outcomes is generally weak.
- Adjuvant systemic therapy for node-positive disease shows a stronger association with positive outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Current trends in breast cancer care, while improving quality, are associated with substantial resource use.
- The socioeconomic sustainability of indefinite continuation of these trends is questionable.
- Further research is needed to align resource allocation with demonstrable improvements in breast cancer outcomes.