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Breast Cancer Diagnosis Obtained Faster With Patient Navigation Assistance

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Navigators are trained to assist patients with obstacles that can lead to delays in medical care

A recent study shows that with the assistance of patient navigation services, breast cancer patients can reduce delays in the identification of the disease. In fact, researchers found a nearly 4-fold reduction in the time it took to diagnose a suspicious breast lump when patient navigation services were implemented.

The analysis was led by Heather J. Hoffman, PhD, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), and included Steven Patierno, PhD, principal investigator to the George Washington University (GWU) arm of a National Cancer Institute–funded, national multicenter Patient Navigation Research Program (PNRP) and former executive director of the GWU Cancer Institute. The study is published in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Hoffman and the PNRP research team, which included 7 other DC-based cancer health organizations, hypothesized that patient navigation had the potential to help address the fact that the District of Columbia has one of the highest breast cancer death rates in the nation.

The study involved 2601 women who were evaluated for a breast lump at 9 hospitals or clinics located in the District of Columbia. About half of the women received navigation services, and the remainder was given the standard advice to follow up on the lump; however, they did not get the extra support that a patient navigator often provides.

Navigators participating in the study were trained to deal with obstacles that can lead to missed medical appointments and a subsequent delay in medical care, including a lack of insurance and childcare difficulties.

Study results showed that patient navigation services reduced the time it took to receive a breast cancer diagnosis. Women in the navigated group had an average diagnosis time of 25 days, while women in the control group received a diagnosis in an average of 42 days.

Women receiving navigation services who needed a biopsy had even more of a time advantage. These women obtained a diagnosis in just 27 days; women who did not get help with navigating the system received a cancer diagnosis in an average of 58 days.

Navigation services can also help overcome a lack of patient health insurance, the study suggests. Researchers discovered that with the help of a navigator, women without insurance were significantly more likely to obtain a timely diagnosis compared with uninsured women who did not get navigation.

Hoffman, Patierno, and their colleagues say the study is limited to the District of Columbia, and additional research is needed to determine if women throughout the country will experience the same benefits when offered navigation services.

Source: The George Washington University.