Earlier breast cancer detection leads to better outcome

New York women may be interested in the results of a new study that demonstrates the importance of early breast cancer detection. Researchers from the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organization, the University of Twente and Erasmus University Medical Center looked at medical data that was collected from approximately 174,000 Dutch women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer between 1999 and 2012.

Using information that was gathered by the Netherlands Cancer Registry, researchers were able to compare patients' tumor staging, treatments and outcomes. Researchers discovered that the survival rates were lower among women whose breast cancer had been detected after spreading to the lymph nodes. Also, women who had larger invasive breast tumors when they were diagnosed with breast cancer had a lower survival rate than women who had smaller invasive breast tumors at the time of their diagnosis.

The conclusions of the new study differ from a popular belief that early detection of breast cancer does not actually make a difference in patient outcome. Several previous studies have concluded that breast cancer survival rates are affected by improvements in treatment, not early detection. Commenting on the new study, a doctor from Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said that over 80 percent of women in the Netherlands are regularly screened for breast cancer.

A delayed diagnosis of breast cancer can cause significant harm to the affected patient, and it can sometimes prove to be fatal. A patient who finds herself in this position may want to speak with a medical malpractice attorney to determine if it would be advisable to seek the recovery of financial compensation from the practitioner responsible.