The 1993–94 patterns of care process survey for breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery—comparison with the 1992 standard for breast conservation treatment

Abstract Purpose: To determine the patterns of evaluation and treatment in the U.S. of women with early breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery and irradiation in 1993–94, and to compare these with a similar survey in 1983 and with the 1992 Standard for Breast Conservation Treatment. Methods and Materials: In 1995–96, 727 randomly selected records of eligible patients treated from 1993–94 at 62 facilities representative of 3 practice types were reviewed. Results: Compared with the Process Survey (PS) in 1983, patients in the 1993–94 study had an older age distribution. In the current study, 70% of patients were ≥ 50 years of age, and 69% were post-menopausal, compared with 59% ≥ 50 years of age and 49% post-menopausal in 1983 ( p = 0.0087 and Conclusion: There was an extensive shift to adherence to the 1992 standard in 1993–94, compared with the 1983 PS, although there is room for improvement in some areas.