Annual mammogram, doctor visits are enough for breast cancer...( g new cancers. However patients were m...),Health

Despite studies indicating that routine physical exams are effective follow-up care, the National Cancer Institute's treatment recommendations to health professionals notes that "the appropriateness of screening tests after the completion of primary treatment [for breast cancer] remains controversial."

Although evidence favoring less intensive follow-up care began to appear in the late 1990s, "women still seemed to prefer a frequent schedule of tests in order to be reassured about their health status," Fossati says.

"It would be worthwhile to evaluate whether a good strategy of sharing information between the doctor and the patient would help women to be equally reassured when a less intensive follow-up is offered," he adds.

Fossati and colleagues acknowledge that the two main studies in their analysis were begun in the late 1980s, which may influence the review's findings.

"One must consider that now, more than a decade later, knowledge, technology and treatment for breast cancer have improved, which may justify new randomized controlled trials," Fossati says.

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Contact: Roldano Fossati
Fossati@marionegri.it
39-2-39014467
Center for the Advancement of Health
23-Jan-2005