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Dutch doctors are rarely using a test which can stop women with breast cancer being given unnecessary chemotherapy, according to Dutch cancer research centre IKNL.
Just one in three women who would have been suitable for testing, underwent the check and so avoided chemo, the IKNL said on Friday. “This may mean that some women are being given chemotherapy unnecessarily,” chief researcher Sabine Siesling said.
Some 13% of breast cancer patients are considered suitable for screening.
The test allows doctors to assess the risk of cancer which has been detected early spreading to other parts of the body by analysing the tumour. The result can be used to decide if patients should be given chemotherapy or not.
But the research by the IKNL and the University of Twente shows that two-thirds of patients did not get an assessment, even though it is covered by health insurance. Before 2023, when experts decided to stimulate use of the test, just one in 10 suitable women were assessed.
Researchers are now trying to analyse why so few women are tested and what can be done to expand its use.
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