Hospital Volume Predicts Outcome in Breast Cancer

A study of data from the U.S. National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) shows that breast cancer survival at five years varies according to hospital case volume, with lower survival rates occurring in hospitals that treat fewer cases.

The study included 173,401 breast cancer patients, those having only surgery and those having surgery as well as systemic therapy, treated in 1,238 hospitals. Those treated in hospitals with high volume survived longer than those treated in hospitals with low volume. For example, those hospitals with fewer than 25-50 staged and surgically treated cancers annually showed lower survival rates than those hospitals that treated 51-100 women; and those that treated 51-100 showed lower survival than those that treated 101-150. Other factors, such as tumor stage of type of surgery, did not differ by hospital volume. No relationship was found between volume and outcome in patients with intraductal cancer.

The National Cancer Data Base is a joint project of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society.



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