HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Liberati, A Articles by Alexanian, A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liberati, A Articles by Alexanian, A

The role of attitudes, beliefs, and personal characteristics of Italian physicians in the surgical treatment of early breast cancer.

A Liberati, G Apolone, A Nicolucci, C Confalonieri, R Fossati, R Grilli, V Torri, P Mosconi and A Alexanian

Laboratorio di Epidemiologia Clinica, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche, Mario Negri, Milano, Italia.

The influence of Italian physicians' attitudes, beliefs, and personal characteristics on medical decision making is examined in the case of surgical treatment of early breast cancer. Responses to a mail survey of 657 physicians from different specialties were analyzed comparing doctors recommending a radical procedure (9%) to those preferring a conservative procedure for younger patients only (25%), and those considering conservative surgery the treatment of choice regardless of patients' age (66%). The findings suggest that the likelihood of physicians' preferring a conservative procedure is influenced by their specialty and the extent to which they feel that a patient should have a role in the treatment decision more than by differences in the beliefs of treatment outcomes. Only preferences of the small group indicating radical surgery as the sole admissible treatment can be accounted for by ignorance or distrust of results of recent trials. These findings suggest that other than scientific factors guide many doctors in their decision making; they may help to explain why the diffusion of research results into clinical practice is often disappointingly slow.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. De Palma, A. Liberati, G. Ciccone, E. Bandieri, M. Belfiglio, M. Ceccarelli, M. Leoni, G. Longo, N. Magrini, M. Marangolo, et al. Developing Clinical Recommendations for Breast, Colorectal, and Lung Cancer Adjuvant Treatments Using the GRADE System: A Study From the Programma Ricerca e Innovazione Emilia Romagna Oncology Research Group J. Clin. Oncol., March 1, 2008; 26(7): 1033 - 1039. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Mandelblatt, B. Kreling, M. Figeuriedo, and S. Feng What Is the Impact of Shared Decision Making on Treatment and Outcomes for Older Women With Breast Cancer? J. Clin. Oncol., October 20, 2006; 24(30): 4908 - 4913. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Enger, S. S. Thwin, D. S.M. Buist, T. Field, F. Frost, A. M. Geiger, T. L. Lash, M. Prout, M. U. Yood, F. Wei, et al. Breast Cancer Treatment of Older Women in Integrated Health Care Settings J. Clin. Oncol., September 20, 2006; 24(27): 4377 - 4383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Silliman What Constitutes Optimal Care for Older Women With Breast Cancer? J. Clin. Oncol., October 1, 2003; 21(19): 3554 - 3556. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Mandelblatt, S. B. Edge, N. J. Meropol, R. Senie, T. Tsangaris, L. Grey, B. M. Peterson Jr, Y.-T. Hwang, J. Kerner, and J. Weeks Predictors of Long-Term Outcomes in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: Perceptions Versus Patterns of Care J. Clin. Oncol., March 1, 2003; 21(5): 855 - 863. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Silliman, E. Guadagnoli, W. Rakowski, M. B. Landrum, T. L. Lash, R. Wolf, A. Fink, P. A. Ganz, J. Gurwitz, C. Borbas, et al. Adjuvant Tamoxifen Prescription in Women 65 Years and Older With Primary Breast Cancer J. Clin. Oncol., June 1, 2002; 20(11): 2680 - 2688. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Liang, C. B. Burnett, J. H. Rowland, N. J. Meropol, L. Eggert, Y.-T. Hwang, R. A. Silliman, J. C. Weeks, and J. S. Mandelblatt Communication Between Physicians and Older Women With Localized Breast Cancer: Implications for Treatment and Patient Satisfaction J. Clin. Oncol., February 15, 2002; 20(4): 1008 - 1016. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. M. Cyran, L. A. Crane, and L. Palmer Physician Sex and Other Factors Associated With Type of Breast Cancer Surgery in Older Women Arch Surg, February 1, 2001; 136(2): 185 - 191. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]