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High-quality one-stop breast clinics could be the most effective way to spot
breast cancer early, a study published in the British Journal of
Cancer reveals today (Wednesday).
Women going to their GP with symptoms that could be a sign of breast cancer
are either referred to a one-stop clinic or to a breast unit at a hospital.
For the first time, scientists have calculated that nearly all women who actually
have breast cancer are correctly diagnosed on their first visit to a one-stop
clinic.
At a one-stop clinic, women have physical breast examinations, scans and biopsies
in one day. In other clinics, these tests happen at the hospital on separate
days usually over the space of a week.
Experts believe that these clinics will not only help to meet the government's
target of a maximum two-week wait between referral from a GP and diagnosis for
all women with breast cancer symptoms, but that eventually all women will have
all three diagnostic tests performed in this time too, helping to reduce the
anxiety associated with waiting for the results of breast cancer tests.
Dr Peter Britton, lead author based at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge,
said:
"Finding a lump or any other breast cancer symptom can be very worrying
for a woman, so it's crucial that she receives her results as quickly as possible
and knows that the result is reliable.
We think these clinics are so successful because women are seen by a
team of experienced specialists and their results are discussed by all of
the team.
In other clinics, only the results of women with cancer may be discussed.
So debates over the diagnosis don't happen.
This is the first time we've calculated how effective one-stop clinics
are, and the accuracy of the tests is very encouraging.
Unfortunately, it's practically impossible to create a system that spots
every case of cancer – we don't yet have the technology to create a
flawless test."
This study looked at 7,004 women discharged from a one-stop breast clinic without
a diagnosis of cancer and followed them up for three years.
Doctors at the one-stop clinic missed 1.7 cancers in every thousand women.
This rate is thought to be the lowest.
Twenty nine patients were diagnosed with breast cancer within the three year
period.
Almost 60% of these cancers were 'new' and not overlooked at the clinic.
Nine cases were missed.
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said:
"Research into ways to spot cancer early is crucial – especially
for cancers such as breast cancer where treatment is much more likely to be
successful when diagnosed early.
This is the first indication that one-stop clinics could be the best
way to help reduce waiting times and improve diagnosis."
Cancer Research UK
Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is
to beat cancer.
*
Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve
understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat
different kinds
of cancer.
* Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives
of all cancer patients.
* Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is
being made and the choices each person can make.
* Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest
impact in the global fight against cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how
to support the charity, please call 020 7009 8820 or visit their website (link
at bottom of this page).
News is included on the IvyRose website to inform visitors about current health
issues, but not to endorse any particular view or activity. Any views expressed
in the article above are not necessarily those of IvyRose Ltd.. Material in
this news item was released by Cancer Research UK on 10
June 2009 and may have been edited (e.g. in style,
length, and/or for ease of understanding by our international readers) for inclusion
here. For further information, please visit their website.
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