Medical Malpractice
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October 19th, 2006

"Report Finds Older Woman Not Properly Treated For Breast Cancer"

A lot of older woman who have developed breast cancer are not being properly diagnosed or treated, particularly in community hospitals and clinics, states a new report published in the Archives of Surgery.

A Growing Problem

This problem is raising increased concern as the rate of breast cancer continues to grow in the United States. Nearly 50 percent of breast cancer patients are 65 and older, and about 35 percent are over 70. Furthermore, researchers report that 77 percent of fatalities from breast cancer occur in woman over 55.

However, many older women—especially those over 70—are frequently underdiagnosed or under-treated for their disease. This occurrence may be because many older patients have other severe life-threatening conditions, or because of the confusion over the mammogram screening guidelines, which has suggested woman stop getting mammograms at 70.

What Researchers Found

Researchers at Michigan State University evaluated the medical records of over 350 breast cancer patients over 70 who were diagnosed in a hospital between 1992 and 2002.

They found that 46 percent of the breast cancer cases were spotted during physical examinations, and that mammograms were only conducted to verify the results. Mammograms only detected 54 percent of undiagnosed cancer.

Furthermore, 36 percent of the breast cancer patients and 56 percent older than 80 were never examined to check if the disease had metastasized to their lymph nodes—a medical mistake that could lead to severe patient harm.

As far as breast cancer treatment, researchers found that the number of women who received radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy after a breast-conserving surgery was far lower that expected, the lowest rate being among the oldest patients.

“There are misconceptions by the public and the medical community that it’s okay to omit certain diagnostic tests or treatments in older patients,” said researcher Dr. David A. Litvak.

“The bottom line is that we really have to start individualizing the care of older patients,” he added. “It doesn’t make sense to have a cap on mammograms for age. It should be based on the patient’s overall health and their life expectancy. The same is true for treatment.”