Delaying Breast Cancer Treatment May Lessen Chances of Survival

A new study found women who delay treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer face a higher risk of dying than women who begin treatment immediately.

Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) conducted a study which showed that women who delay treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer face a higher risk of dying than those who begin treatment immediately.

"We wanted to see whether delaying treatment affected mortality rates among women with breast cancer," says Electra D. Paskett, associate director for population sciences at OSUCCC-James. "It's been shown that early detection and appropriate, timely treatment can increase five year survival rates to as high as 98 percent. Until this study, we didn't know the profound effect delaying treatment could have," she said.

The report was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. During the course of the study, researchers examined the cases of 1,786 women enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid system who were diagnosed with breast cancer from Jan. 1, 2000 through Dec. 31, 2002.

From diagnosis to treatment, 22 days was taken as the average median time taken for a woman diagnosed with breast cancer to start the treatment. It was found that 66 percent of these women went in for treatment within 30 days of being diagnosed and 90 percent of these women took up treatment within 60 days of being diagnosed with breast cancer.

However, it was found that one in 10 women took the treatment more than 60 days after being diagnosed. Among these women, those diagnosed with advance breast cancer risked an 85 percent change of not surviving the disease and overall, the entire group was at a 66 percent higher risk of dying.

"We're finding as we do research, it is really the lower income population that suffers the highest burden of all diseases," says Paskett. "This study suggests that ten percent of women can't get access to care, or it takes a longer time to get access to care."

"This research shows we have an opportunity to improve breast cancer outcomes by helping women who are diagnosed at late-stage to get started with treatment sooner," she said. "Even if the goal of treatment isn't curative, early treatment seems to prolong survival."