Women are facing a postcode lottery due to wait times when seeking treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer, according to new research.
About one in five women in some areas had to wait more than three months for a potentially life-saving chemotherapy treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. The form is responsible for approximately 15 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses.
Women in the Midlands had to wait an average of 50 days, compared to 38 days in the North West.
Triple-negative breast cancer requires immediate treatment due to its aggressive form, and surgery combined with chemotherapy is the usual treatment.
“Given the evidence of an increased risk of mortality as time to chemotherapy increases, the causes of regional differences require further investigation,” said Dr Pinkie Chambers of University College London, one of the research teams whose study appears in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment .
About one in five women in some areas had to wait more than three months for a potentially life-saving chemotherapy treatment. (Stock photo)
Previous research has shown that the time between surgery and chemotherapy is important. (Stock photo)
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and accounts for 25 percent of all new cancer diagnoses in women.
Previous research has shown that the time between surgery and chemotherapy is important, with longer times associated with poorer survival and early treatment prolonging the disease-free period.
The researchers from University College London, Nottingham University Hospital, Christie NHS Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals analyzed data on TNBC patients in different parts of England to see if there were differences in waiting times. The data covered a two-year period, from 2014 to 2015, and included information on the time between surgery and chemotherapy for more than 1,000 women with TNBC.
The longest average times between surgery and chemotherapy were in the Midlands, 50 days, followed by South East and South West, 49 days, East of England, 47 days, North East and Yorkshire, 45 days, London, 43 days and North West. .
London and the North West had the highest proportions of patients receiving chemotherapy within 30 days of surgery: 33 per cent compared to a low of 20 per cent in the Midlands.
The researchers classified delayed treatment as wait times longer than 90 days or three months.
Patients in the East of England, Midlands and South West regions where treatment took place had the highest rates of delayed treatment times, with 22 per cent of patients taking more than three months to start chemotherapy.
Symptoms of breast cancer to look out for include lumps and swellings, dimpling of the skin, color changes, discharge and rash or crusting around the nipple
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and accounts for 25 percent of all new cancer diagnoses in women. (Stock photo)
The Midlands had the lowest proportion of patients starting treatment within 20 days of surgery.
It is unclear why there are differences.
“The differences between regions warrant further research to identify potential service gaps that could lead to delays within specific cancer treatment centers, and to fully understand where and for what reasons delays occur,” Dr Chambers said.
‘Significant associations of times longer than 90 days with worse survival outcomes have been reported.
‘Research shows that early administration of chemotherapy extends the disease-free period. Minimizing the time period is important for achieving optimal results because this period is associated with survival.”