In a survey of 78 primary care providers conducted by Gayathri R. Devi, Ph.D.,(above) and her colleagues at Duke University, most physicians expressed only a moderate ability to recognize inflammatory breast cancer in their patients. Less than a third had ever suspected IBC in a patient. Nearly half thought (wrongly) that a palpable breast mass was a symptom. And three-quarters would refer a patient for a mammogram if antibiotics didn’t clear up the symptoms of an inflammation.
The researchers concluded that the lack of knowledge of symptoms, screening, and treatment “impact timely IBC diagnosis and treatment.”
See “Assessing Knowledge and Barriers at the Primary Care Provider Level that Contribute to Disparities in Inflammatory Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment” by Gayathri R. Devi et al. (January 1, 2023)
