Diagnostic workup of early-stage breast cancer: can we choose more wisely?

INTRODUCTION: Current international guidelines, including the Choosing Wisely Initiative, recommends against the routine use of systemic imaging studies or tumor markers in early-stage breast cancer. Accumulating data suggests that adherence to these guidelines is low. We aimed to investigate the execution of unnecessary diagnostic tests among Israeli breast cancer patients and identify factors associated with their performance. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted involving a database of early breast cancer patients treated at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. A survey was distributed among Israeli surgeons and oncologists specializing in breast cancer treatment. RESULTS: The study included early breast cancer patients (n = 178), who have no indication for completing systemic evaluation. Nearly half of the patients (76, 42%) were referred to 128 unjustified diagnostic studies, with the most common referral comprising a PET-CT (n = 39 30.5%). As expected, none of the tests led to any change in either disease staging or alteration in clinical management. Variables associated with systemic evaluation included younger age (61.8% for < 50 years vs 38.9% for > 50 years, p = 0.02), diagnosis by palpable mass compared to screening mammography (26.9% vs 52.9% p = 0.043, respectively) and higher tumor grade (33.7% vs 52.2% p = 0.02, respectively). In concordance with the findings of the database, the physicians' survey revealed low adherence to guidelines and a role of the treating physicians' subjective feelings. Doctors were more likely to recommend unnecessary studies when presented with a clinical case as an image, than to an informative question. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate a high rate of non-adherence to guidelines, physicians recommending extensive systemic evaluation for women with early breast cancer. These deviations from the guidelines are associated with subjective factors, some of them being physician-dependent. Initiatives aimed at improving adherence to guidelines, and specifically to guidelines recommending "doing less" should therefore include not just knowledge-based education but also encourage conversation about what is appropriate and necessary.

Vitamin d and physical performance.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient obtained from the diet and exposure to sunlight. Roles for vitamin D have been established in the function of the cardiovascular, immune, and musculoskeletal systems. An electronic database search was conducted using EMBASE (1967 to August 2012), MEDLINE (1966 to August 2012), SPORTDiscus™ (1975 to August 2012), and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) (1998 to August 2012) with no limits of language of publication. Articles that described vitamin D and performance were considered eligible for this review. Recent studies suggest that vitamin D maintains physical performance in athletes and other active populations, e.g., maximal oxygen consumption may be related to vitamin D status. Poor vitamin D status affects muscle strength, and vitamin D may participate in protein synthesis through the actions of the vitamin D receptor in muscle tissue. Vitamin D may protect against overuse injuries, such as stress fracture, through its well-documented role in calcium metabolism. The objective of this manuscript is to review recent evidence regarding the importance of vitamin D for maintaining physical performance, and includes specific examples of how vitamin D supports the cardiovascular, immune, and musculoskeletal systems.