A Grand Valley student initiated a study of Michigan breast cancer
patients that suggests routine mammography and self-breast exams
continue for women ages 40-49 as important screening tools, despite
recommendations from a national task force.
Daniel Smith, a physician assistant studies major, presented his
team’s research as part of a panel discussion at the 2011 Breast
Cancer Symposium in San Francisco on September 8. While most of the
presenters at the national meeting were practicing physicians, Smith
was the only physician assistant student to give a presentation.
Smith said he got the idea for the study while an undergraduate
student at Grand Valley, taking a biomedical ethics class. At that
time, his class discussed the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
recommendations that discouraged teaching self-breast exams and
recommended that only women over 50 be offered routine mammograms.
“I thought that was rather a bold statement and knew I wanted to
follow up on that,” he said. “The topic seemed very relevant, and once
I was accepted into the PAS program I needed a research project to
work on.”
For the study, Smith teamed with Theresa Bacon-Baguley,
professor of PAS at Grand Valley; Dr. Jamie Caughran, Lacks Cancer
Center in Grand Rapids; GVSU students Jennifer Kreinbrink and Grace
Parish, and others from different medical organizations. Researchers
used the Michigan Breast Oncology Quality Initiative, a breast cancer
registry, to analyze data from patients who were diagnosed with breast
cancer between the years of 2006-2009.
The registry, during that time frame, included nearly 6,000
patients. Of that number, 42.2 percent of patients had presented
through palpation or mammography under the age 50. According to Smith
and Bacon-Baguley, the percentage of patients who presented breast
cancer suggest that no longer teaching self-breast exams or
recommending screening mammography has the potential to impact early detection.
Bacon-Baguley said the patients in the study with breast cancer
that was detected at an earlier stage were more likely to undergo a
less-aggressive surgical procedure and had a lower incidence of
chemotherapy. “Increasing the age of screening mammography from 40 to
50 may result in an initial presentation at a higher stage,” she said.
“Cancers detected at a higher stage are more likely to require a more
aggressive treatments, which could impact the quality of life of the patient.”
She added that this type of student-driven research was not
uncommon at Grand Valley. “This has turned out to be a great project
for Grand Valley,” Bacon-Baguley said. “It’s a collaborative effort
with other area institutions that will benefit women’s health.”
Update: Smith was featured in a Grand Rapids Press article on October 16. Click here for more.
