Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer
Authors: James Liebmann, Clark Haskins, Barbara McAneny, Richard Giudice, Douglas Clark, Natalie Marshall
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Letters18 November 2003Chemotherapy in Women with Breast CancerJames Liebmann, MD, Clark Haskins, MD, Barbara McAneny, MD, Richard Giudice, MD, Douglas Clark, MD, and Natalie Marshall, MDJames Liebmann, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this author, Clark Haskins, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this author, Barbara McAneny, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this author, Richard Giudice, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this author, Douglas Clark, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this author, and Natalie Marshall, MDFrom New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-10-200311180-00024 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Du and colleagues (1) reported that in New Mexico between 1991 and 1997, only 29% of women with a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer received adjuvant chemotherapy. Their study implied that 71% of women in New Mexico who had this disease were undertreated during this period. The accompanying Editors' Notes state that many unnecessary deaths could be prevented if National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines are followed. We believe that the study conclusion and the editorial comment are both unwarranted.The number of patients examined by Du and colleagues perplexes us. Although the authors reported that they ...References1. Du XL, Key CR, Osborne C, Mahnken JD, Goodwin JS. Discrepancy between consensus recommendations and actual community use of adjuvant chemotherapy in women with breast cancer. Ann Intern Med. 2003;138:90-7. [PMID: 12529090] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Eifel P, Axelson JA, Costa J, Crowley J, Curran WJ, Deshler A, . National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement: adjuvant therapy for breast cancer, November 1-3, 2000. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001;93:979-89. [PMID: 11438563] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. NIH consensus conference. Treatment of early-stage breast cancer. JAMA. 1991; 265:391-5. [PMID: 1984541] Google Scholar4. Endocrine responsiveness and tailoring adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal lymph node-negative breast cancer: a randomized trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002; 94:1054-65. [PMID: 12122096] Google Scholar5. Wolff AC, Abeloff MD. Adjuvant chemotherapy for postmenopausal lymph node-negative breast cancer: it ain't necessarily so [Editorial]. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002;94:1041-3. [PMID: 12122089] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: James Liebmann, MD; Clark Haskins, MD; Barbara McAneny, MD; Richard Giudice, MD; Douglas Clark, MD; Natalie Marshall, MDAffiliations: From New Mexico Cancer Center; Albuquerque, NM 87109. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoDiscrepancy between Consensus Recommendations and Actual Community Use of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer Xianglin L. Du , Charles R. Key , Cynthia Osborne , Jonathan D. Mahnken , and James S. Goodwin Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer Linda C. Harlan , Limin X. Clegg , and Joan L. Warren Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer Xianglin L. Du and Charles R. Key Chemotherapy in Women with Breast Cancer Metrics 18 November 2003Volume 139, Issue 10Page: 867-868KeywordsAdjuvant chemotherapyBreast cancerChemotherapyHormonesLymph nodesSurveillance Epidemiology and End ResultsTreatment guidelines ePublished: 18 November 2003 Issue Published: 18 November 2003 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...