Imaging is Not Indicated in Staging of Asymptomatic Patients with Early Breast Cancer – Are We Following Current Recommendations?

Abstract

Background Estimated healthcare costs in the US for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are expected to reach $20.5 billion per year by 2020. In 2012, ASCO released the Choosing Wisely Initiative which recommended against the use of routine staging imaging in patients with newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer. We examined physicians' adherence rate and factors associated with non-adherence to current guidelines in patients with early stage breast cancer treated within the Mount Sinai Health System.