Using chemotherapy to treat early stage breast cancer is decreasing, according to research published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers surveyed 5,080 U.S. women treated for early stage breast cancer between 2013 and 2015. Of the women, 2,926 had stage one or two breast cancers that were positive for estrogen receptor expression and negative for human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression. The researchers also interviewed 504 of the oncologists treating the aforementioned early stage breast cancer patients.
Researchers found chemotherapy use declined from 34.5 percent in 2013 to 21.3 percent in 2015 — a 13.2 percent reduction — among patients in the study population. Additionally, there was a decline in chemotherapy recommendations by oncologists from 44.9 percent to 31.6 percent from 2013 to 2015, respectively.
Researchers also found 67.4 percent of oncologists surveyed would order tumor genomic testing to estimate cancer recurrence risk for a lymph node-positive woman if the woman did not agree with the recommendation to receive chemotherapy.
"We believe this study indicates that physicians are attempting to be more selective in their recommendations and to spare patients toxicity when possible," said Allison Kurian, MD, associate professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.