Review warns that flawed breast cancer surgeries leave thousands of women at risk of relapse

A major review has found that breast cancer surgery guidelines are leaving thousands of women at risk of the disease returning, adding that around one in five women who undergo treatment to remove tumours are having insufficient breast tissue removed.

 

This leaves them with an increased risk of the cancer recurring in the breast or elsewhere, making it incurable.

 

Breast cancer is currently the second most deadly cancer for women, causing 11,400 deaths each year.

 

Experts say the focus had wrongly been on the cosmetic outcome of surgery, with an over-reliance on radiotherapy and drug breakthroughs to remove any remaining cancerous cells.

 

In the biggest analysis of its kind, researchers from the University of Manchester compared the outcomes of 68 studies involving 112,140 patients.  The chance of the recurrence of a tumour elsewhere in the body was 35.4 per cent in patients who had cancerous tissue up to the edge of what was removed.

 

That figure dropped to 8.4 per cent for those who had up to 2mm of healthy tissue removed as well and to 7.4 per cent for patients with a clearance of 2mm or more, according to the findings published in the British Medical Journal.

 

Study leader Professor Nigel Bundred, said guidelines needed changing, adding “You have to do the surgery right in the first place.  Some patients are being left with a tumour in the breast and the assumption is that chemotherapy and radiotherapy will compensate.

 

“We have been in an era where everybody was de-escalating breast cancer surgery saying we’ve got all these extra treatments that make the difference … well actually they don’t.”

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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