Hospital volume differences and five-year survival from breast cancer.

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.88.3.454
• Publication Date: 2008-11-29T13:30:23Z
• Authors: P J Roohan; N A Bickell; M S Baptiste; G D Therriault; E P Ferrara; A L Siu
• Keywords: New York; Breast Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Survival Analysis; Hospitals; 3. Good health; Survival Rate; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Socioeconomic Factors; Risk Factors; Humans; Female; Aged

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hospital volume on long-term survival for women with breast cancer. METHODS: Survival analysis and proportional-hazard modeling were used to assess 5-year survival and risk of death, adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: At 5 years, patients from very low-volume hospitals had a 60% greater risk of all-cause mortality than patients from high-volume hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital volume of breast cancer surgical cases has a strong positive effect on 5-year survival. Research is needed to identify whether processes of care, especially postsurgical adjuvant treatments, contribute to survival differences.