BREAST CANCER TREATMENT GROUP TEN YEAR REPORT RELEASED

ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, has today released the Breast Cancer Treatment Group ten year report which draws together a decade of information on the treatment and health outcomes for patients diagnosed with the disease.

The ACT and South East New South Wales Breast Cancer Treatment Group was established in 1995 to conduct a community based audit of breast cancer treatment and outcomes. The report released today outlines the treatment of invasive breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the ACT and region over the period 1997 to 2007.

"The ACT has the highest age-standardised incidence of breast cancer in Australia, with approximately 200 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed per year in women, and one new case per year in men," Ms Gallagher said.

"Despite those statistics, this report indicates that breast cancer outcomes in the ACT are excellent, both in terms of disease-free survival and overall mortality from breast cancer.

"Analysis of this data also shows that breast cancer treatment in the ACT and South East New South Wales demonstrates high compliance with Australian and international guidelines on the treatment for breast cancer," she said.

The Minister said the report contained a wealth of information about the treatment provided to and the health outcomes of nearly 3000 patients with breast cancer in the ACT and South East New South Wales.

"The data set used within the report is unique within Australia and allows us to see the relationship between health outcomes and treatment," Ms Gallagher said.

"Clinicians have also demonstrated their commitment to the project with 800 General Practitioners and 37 Specialists currently contributing data to this voluntary project," she said.

"Due to ongoing comprehensive data collection, this project will continue to provide significant information on long-term patient outcomes in the ACT and the surrounding NSW region.

"Through future collaborations, data from the BCTG Project will be able to provide a significant contribution to national and possibly international research.

"This will firmly establish the Group as an important presence in breast cancer research," Ms Gallagher said.

The report can be accessed by logging on to the ACT Health website http://www.health.act.gov.au/BreastCancerResearch,selecting publications and scrolling down to Reports.

Media Contact:

Kathryn Roberts 6205 0242 0402 399 907 kathryn.roberts@act.gov.au