• Breast cancer is the second most deadly cancer in women. There are 211,240 new cases diagnosed each year, and an estimated 40,410 women will die from the disease in 2006.1 The disease costs $8.1 billion annually in the U.S.2

  • Improved diagnostic, biopsy and treatment procedures have contributed to the recent decline in deaths from breast cancer. There has been a significant increase in the five-year breast cancer survival rate, from 78.8 percent in 1985 to 86.9 percent in 1995, and it continues to rise.3

  • Twenty years ago, biopsies were typically done with an open surgical procedure, and mastectomies were fairly common. But today, by diagnosing breast cancer early through regular mammograms and advanced biopsy procedures such as the vacuum-assisted and core needle techniques, patients have an increased chance of taking advantage of less radical procedures.

  • Nearly 50 percent of the 1.6 million breast tumors biopsied each year are hard and marble-like.4 Often times, physicians are unable to penetrate it using a core needle device and will instead use a minimally invasive vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VAB) device. This technology requires only a 4.5 (approx) millimeter incision, and leaves little or no scarring on the breast. VAB and core needle biopsy are minimally invasive technologies that make biopsies quicker to perform, leave less scarring and allow faster recovery.

  • In a recent scientific paper, 23 leading surgeons, radiologists, pathologists and oncologists said that when breast biopsies are required, minimally invasive biopsies should be the procedures of choice.5

  • The VAB device, the latest innovation in minimally invasive breast biopsy techniques, has been shown to be cost-effective compared to traditional biopsy methods. In a study to compare the total costs of VAB to open surgical biopsy, researchers concluded the overall cost advantage using VAB ranged from $314 to $843 per procedure, depending on the facility type.6

  • Another study that assessed the value of advances in breast cancer treatment from 1980 to 2000 found a $4.80 return on investment for every dollar spent on advances in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment during that period.7

  1. Jemal A, Murray T, Ward E, et al. “Cancer statistics, 2005.” CA Cancer J Clin 55(1) (2005):10-30.

  2. Brown ML, Riley GF, Schussler N, et al. “Estimating health care costs related to cancer treatment from SEER-Medicare data.” Medical Care. 40(8 Suppl) 2002: IV-104-17.

  3. Ries L, Eisner MP, Kosary CL, et al., eds. “SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2002.” http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/19752002/resultsmerged/sect04breast.pdf (21 May 2006).

  4. Breastbiopsy.com “Statistics on Fibroadenomas — Benign Breast Biopsy Diagnosis.” http://www.breastbiopsy.com/bioresults_diagnosis.jsp (12 April 2006).

  5. Silverstein MJ, Lagios MD, Recht A, et al. “Image-Detected Breast Cancer: State-of-the-Art Diagnosis and Treatment.” Journal of the American College of Surgeons 201(4) 2005:586-97.

  6. Bodai BI, Boyd B, Brown L, et al. “Total cost comparison of 2 biopsy methods for nonpalpable breast lesions.” The American Journal of Managed Care 5 (2001):527-38.

  7. MEDTAP International. “The Value of Investment in Health Care.” http://www.medtap.com/Products/HP_FullReport.pdf (15 May 2006).

 
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