Advanced diagnostic breast cancer imaging: variation and patterns of care in Washington state.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Because receipt of breast imaging likely occurs in nonrandom patterns, selection bias is an important issue in studies that attempt to elucidate associations between imaging and breast cancer outcomes. The purpose of this study was to analyze use of advanced diagnostic imaging in a cohort of patients with breast cancer insured by commercial, managed care, and public health plans by demographic, health insurance, and clinical variables from 2002 to 2009.

Methods

We identified women with breast cancer diagnoses from a Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry whose data could be linked to claims from participating health plans. We examined imaging that occurred between cancer diagnosis and initiation of treatment and classified patients according t

SUBMITTER: Gold LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3770510 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature