Monash University > News and Events > Monash Memo

Women missing out on lifesaving cancer treatment

12 November 2008

Professor Susan Davis

Hundreds of Australian women may be missing out on lifesaving breast cancer treatment because they do not know if their cancer is sensitive to hormone therapy.

The findings of the Monash study showed 38 per cent of women who were hormone receptor positive were not aware that their breast cancer was hormone sensitive.

These women were less likely to be receiving endocrine therapy than those who did know they were positive.

Based on these findings, researchers estimate that about 500 more Australian women each year would be receiving endocrine therapy.

Endocrine therapy, which includes the removal of the ovaries or use of drugs such as Tamoxifen in hormone sensitive breast cancers, reduces the likelihood of recurrence by about one third in these women, significantly improving their survival chances.

Professor Susan Davis of the Women's Health Program at Monash University said the findings showed that health authorities were not communicating critical issues to patients.

"Women with breast cancer need to understand the implications of the decisions they make with their doctors about their treatment," Professor Davis said.

Professor Davis said that the results of the survey on 1684 Victorian women with invasive breast cancer were surprising given that it was conducted at the same time as a breast cancer awareness campaign.

The study found that women who are older or less educated were less likely to know their hormone receptor status. Women who were unable to complete the survey in English were excluded from the study indicating that the extent of the problem could even be underestimated.

Each year around 2600 Australian women die from breast cancer, and more than 13,000 are diagnosed with the disease.

While mortality rates from the disease are improving, the preliminary research findings from the Monash study underscore the importance of ongoing research into prevention. .