Using data from 13 states, representing a quarter of the national population, AHRQ examined the rates of double and single mastectomies as a treatment plan for breast cancer diagnosis between 2005 and 2013.
Below are five statistics to know from the report.
1. The rate of mastectomy increased by 36 percent — from 66 to 90 per 100,000 adult women — from 2005 to 2013. During the same period, the overall incidence of breast cancer remained the same.
2. The study attributes this increase in mastectomies to a rise in the number of women with early-stage breast cancer who choose to undergo breast removal surgeries as a treatment plan. Among women undergoing early-stage breast cancer treatment, the percentage of those who chose to remove a breast without cancer increased fivefold.
3. From 2005 to 2013, the rate of bilateral outpatient mastectomies performed on patients with cancer more than tripled, and the rate of the same surgery performed on patients without cancer nearly doubled.
4. In 2013, 45 percent of mastectomies were performed in hospital-affiliated outpatient surgery centers with no overnight stay, up from 22 percent in 2005.
5. The increasing preference among breast cancer patients for more invasive, expensive treatment options has concerned some patient advocates and physicians who say, for many women, less invasive options are just as effective and have substantially less associated risks.
The AHRQ study compiled information from Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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