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Detection of breast cancer in a specialized cancer detection center
Author(s) -
Gilbertsen Victor A.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(196912)24:6<1192::aid-cncr2820240620>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , cancer , cancer detection , population , oncology , disease , gynecology , environmental health
Early detection of breast cancer and improvement in prognosis for patients with the disease have been objectives of a 21‐year study at the University of Minnesota Cancer Detection Center. The study now includes the follow‐up of the 7,819 women who have participated in the program and the results of their 40,633 annual examinations at the Center. For patients with breast cancers detected at the Center, the outlook for prolonged survival was excellent, and, although careful follow‐up studies have shown that some patients did die of their cancers, at both 5 and 10 years survival was substantially improved from rates which have been observed for women in the general population with breast cancer. The addition of periodic self‐examination further improved efforts for detection and permitted a number of additional prolonged survivors of the disease. Analysis of the results of the study suggests that 5‐ and 10‐year survival might well be substantially improved for a significant number of patients with breast cancers with currently available therapeutic modalities if combined with conventional detection and diagnostic methods applied in a regular and systematic manner to a greater proportion of our population.