70% of oncologists and 60% of ob-gyns disagree with Task Force's mammogram recommendations

May 20 2010

Recent recommendations by the US Preventive Task Force on Breast Cancer advising that women under the age of 50 should not get routine mammograms have resulted in fierce debate within the medical community. According to a new oncology study from ORC, an Infogroup Company, 70 percent of oncologists and 60 percent of ob-gyns disagree with the assertion that women should not get mammograms before the age of 50. The prevailing argument against the Task Force's mammogram recommendation is that too many women under the age of 50 have breast cancer and that it would allow many breast cancer cases to go undetected.

“However, based on our data, we are optimistic that the usage of PARP-1 Inhibitors post FDA-approval will grow and eventually become the treatment of choice for certain hard to treat breast and ovarian cancers.”

ORC's Oncology Report delved into research analysis on three important Oncology issues: assessing the impact of revised NSCLC staging, genetically linked breast cancer and PARP-1 Inhibitors and Reactions to New Mammogram Recommendations. The mammogram debate was one of a number of key issues covered in ORC's study, which captured the awareness, perceptions, ideal patient profiles and adoption rates of physicians towards PARP-1 Inhibitors post FDA-approval as a treatment for breast and ovarian cancers. PARP-1 Inhibitors have been widely discussed and exhibit efficacy in clinical trials, but minimal data has been collected so far to gauge their wider acceptance. Fifty percent of medical oncologists and 80 percent of ob-gyns were unable to name any PARP-1 inhibitor without being prompted.

"We were initially concerned with the physician's lack of awareness and information on PARP-1 Inhibitors, since such awareness can help determine therapy and answer important questions about genetically linked breast and ovarian cancer treatment," said Vaibhav Varkhedkar, Vice President of ORC's Oncology Practice . "However, based on our data, we are optimistic that the usage of PARP-1 Inhibitors post FDA-approval will grow and eventually become the treatment of choice for certain hard to treat breast and ovarian cancers."