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Trends in breast-conserving surgery in Denmark, 1982–2002

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Abstract

Using hospital discharge data from the counties in Northern Denmark and the Danish Cancer Registry, we examined the trend in the prevalence of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) to treat primary breast cancer from 1982 through 2002, with an emphasis on publications that may have influenced surgical practice in Denmark. Overall, the prevalence of BCS increased from less than 1% of breast cancer operations in 1982 to approximately 25% by 2002. The rise in prevalence was most pronounced for the treatment of young women and women with early-stage breast cancer. Of three pivotal clinical trials, the most significant trigger of the upward trend appeared to be a study conducted by the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group, published in 1988. After 1988, there was a steep rise in the prevalence of BCS. By 2002, BCS prevalence appeared to reach a threshold at 25% of breast cancer operations, seemingly defined by the proportion of new breast cancer cases who are good candidates for BCS.

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Abbreviations

BCS:

Breast-conserving surgery

BCS-RT:

Breast-conserving surgery with radiotherapy

CPR:

Civil personal registration number

DBCG:

Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group

DCR:

Danish cancer registry

HDR:

Hospital discharge registry

ICD:

International Classification of Diseases

NSABP:

National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project

SEER:

Surveillance, epidemiology and end results

UICC:

International Union Against Cancer

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Acknowledgement

Conflicts of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. Sources of support: The Karen Elise Jensen Foundation and R01 CA118708-01A1 provided partial funding support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, TE3, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Thomas P. Ahern, Henrik Toft Sørensen & Timothy L. Lash

  2. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Ole Worms Allé 1150, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Heidi Larsson, Deirdre P. Cronin-Fenton, Henrik Toft Sørensen & Timothy L. Lash

  3. Department of Surgical Oncology, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18–22, PO Box 365, 9100, Aalborg, Denmark

    Jens Peter Garne

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  1. Thomas P. Ahern
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  2. Heidi Larsson
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  3. Jens Peter Garne
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  4. Deirdre P. Cronin-Fenton
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  5. Henrik Toft Sørensen
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  6. Timothy L. Lash
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Correspondence to Thomas P. Ahern.

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Ahern, T.P., Larsson, H., Garne, J.P. et al. Trends in breast-conserving surgery in Denmark, 1982–2002. Eur J Epidemiol 23, 109–114 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9207-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9207-1

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