The study looked at more than 25 years of data on women receiving different breast cancer treatments, has been recognised by the ONS in its Research Excellence Awards for its insight and its important implications for management of patients with this kind of early-stage breast cancer in the future.
Dr Gurdeep Mannu’s research showed that women who are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (an early-stage breast cancer) during breast screening go on to experience higher risks of developing invasive breast cancer and of death from breast cancer, compared with the general population.
The research looked at data on 35,000 women in England diagnosed as having ductal carcinoma in situ by the NHS Breast Screening Programme from 1988 to 2014. It combined ONS mortality data with Hospital Episode Statistics from NHS Digital to show that the rate of women later developing invasive breast cancer was more than double what was expected, while mortality rates were 70% higher than expected.
These findings will have important implications for management of patients with this kind of early-stage breast cancer in the future.
The full story is on the Nuffield Department of Population Health website