Second tumour early detection urged
Updated on 18 March 2009
Early detection of a second tumour can halve a breast cancer survivor's chances of dying from the disease, research has shown.
Women whose second cancer outbreak was found before symptoms appeared were 27%-47% more likely to survive over a 25-year period than those whose tumours were detected at a later stage.
An international team of researchers looked at 1,044 women who had attended a hospital in Florence, Italy, between 1980 and 2005 and developed a second breast cancer.
Mammography was more sensitive than clinical examination for detecting second cancers, they found.
Study leader Dr Nehmat Houssami, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said: "Intuitively, it makes sense to consider that early detection of second breast cancers will improve prognosis, since breast cancer survivors have a long-term risk of developing further disease or relapse in either breast.
"However, due to a paucity of evidence about this until now, current recommendations on surveillance of breast cancer survivors vary substantially between countries and organisations."
In their research paper, published in Annals of Oncology, the scientists wrote: "Recommendations on follow-up after treatment of early breast cancer should consider our findings, which suggest that early detection of second breast cancer events improves prognosis in this ever-increasing group of women."
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