TY - JOUR
T1 - Diagnostics in Patients Suspect for Breast Cancer in The Netherlands
AU - Voets, Madelon M.
AU - Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Catharina G. M.
AU - Veneklaas, Liset H.J.
AU - Manohar, Srirang
AU - Brinkhuis, Mariël
AU - Veltman, Jeroen
AU - de Munck, Linda
AU - Geus-Oei, Lioe-Fee de
AU - Broeders, Mireille J. M.
AU - Siesling, Sabine
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by European Union?s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action, H2020 ICT 2016?2017, an initiative of the Photonics 21 Public Private Partnership, for the project PAMMOTH under Grant Agreement No 732411.
Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action, H2020 ICT 2016–2017, an initiative of the Photonics 21 Public Private Partnership, for the project PAMMOTH under Grant Agreement No 732411.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Financial transaction number:
2500018167
PY - 2021/11/29
Y1 - 2021/11/29
N2 - The goal of this study was to describe the variation in hospital-based diagnostic care activities for patients with symptomatology suspect for breast cancer in The Netherlands. Two cohorts were included: the ‘benign’ cohort (30,334 women suspected of, but without breast cancer) and the ‘malignant’ cohort (2236 breast cancer patients). Hospital-based financial data was combined with tumor data (malignant cohort) from The Netherlands Cancer Registry. Patterns within diagnostic pathways were analyzed. Factors influencing the number of visits and number of diagnostic care activities until diagnosis were identified in the malignant cohort with multivariable Cox and Poisson regression models. Compared to patients with benign diagnosis, patients with malignant disease received their diagnosis less frequently in one day, after an equal average number of hospital visits and higher average number of diagnostic activities. Factors increasing the number of diagnostic care activities were the following: lower age and higher cM-and cN-stages. Factors increasing the number of days until (malignant) diagnosis were as follows: higher BIRADS-score, screen-detected and higher cN-and cT-stages. Hospital of diagnosis influenced both number of activities and days to diagnosis. The diagnostic care pathway of patients with malignant disease required more time and diagnostic activities than benign disease and depends on hospital, tumor and patient characteristics.
AB - The goal of this study was to describe the variation in hospital-based diagnostic care activities for patients with symptomatology suspect for breast cancer in The Netherlands. Two cohorts were included: the ‘benign’ cohort (30,334 women suspected of, but without breast cancer) and the ‘malignant’ cohort (2236 breast cancer patients). Hospital-based financial data was combined with tumor data (malignant cohort) from The Netherlands Cancer Registry. Patterns within diagnostic pathways were analyzed. Factors influencing the number of visits and number of diagnostic care activities until diagnosis were identified in the malignant cohort with multivariable Cox and Poisson regression models. Compared to patients with benign diagnosis, patients with malignant disease received their diagnosis less frequently in one day, after an equal average number of hospital visits and higher average number of diagnostic activities. Factors increasing the number of diagnostic care activities were the following: lower age and higher cM-and cN-stages. Factors increasing the number of days until (malignant) diagnosis were as follows: higher BIRADS-score, screen-detected and higher cN-and cT-stages. Hospital of diagnosis influenced both number of activities and days to diagnosis. The diagnostic care pathway of patients with malignant disease required more time and diagnostic activities than benign disease and depends on hospital, tumor and patient characteristics.
U2 - 10.3390/curroncol28060419
DO - 10.3390/curroncol28060419
M3 - Article
SN - 1198-0052
VL - 28
SP - 4998
EP - 5008
JO - Current Oncology
JF - Current Oncology
IS - 6
ER -