Errors in Cancer Diagnosis: Current Understanding and Future Directions

                                              
keywords: medical malpractice, claim,  attorney, failure to diagnose cancer, negligence, malpractice, delayed diagnosis, standard of care, 
missed diagnosis, New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, New York medical malpractice lawyer.

An article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examines delays in diagnosis.  The abstract states

Purpose: Errors in cancer diagnosis are likely the most harmful and expensive types of diagnostic errors. We reviewed the literature to understand the prevalence, origins, and prevention of errors in cancer diagnosis, focusing on common cancers for which early diagnosis offers clear benefit (melanoma and cancers of the breast, colon, and lung).

Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library and PubMed from 1966 until April 2007 for publications that met our review criteria and manually searched references of key publications. Our search yielded 110 studies, of which nine were prospective studies and the remaining were retrospective studies.

Results: Errors in cancer diagnosis were not uncommon in autopsy studies and were associated with significant harm and expense in malpractice claims. Literature on prevalence was scant. For each type of cancer, we classified preventable errors according to their origins in patient-physician encounters in the clinic setting, diagnostic test or procedure performance, pathologic confirmation of diagnosis, follow-up of patient or test result, or patient-related delays. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 25, No 31 (November 1), 2007: pp. 5009-5018

An article in Health Day discusses the findings.

Cancer Misdiagnosis: Delay in Diagnosis of Cancer
Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Upwards of 12 percent of U.S. cancer patients are initially misdiagnosed, a new study suggests, leading to repeat testing, treatment delays, increased health-care costs and patient anxiety. Improper tissue and blood sampling, sometimes coupled with inaccurate reading of hospital lab results, are the twin culprits for cancer diagnosis error, according to a team of Canadian, Chinese and American researchers.

A wide range of cancers -- including both gynecologic and non-gynecologic disease -- are vulnerable to such detection mistakes, while the absence of uniform standards to evaluate error frequency across U.S. hospitals complicates efforts to combat the problem, the study authors said. The authors point out that health-care centers are also often reluctant to tackle the issue head-on for fear of the adverse legal and public relations consequences related to error disclosure. Nevertheless, they stress that diagnostic confusion rarely poses a significant threat to the long-term health of a patient.

"I want to make clear that the major consequence is not that patients unnecessarily have organs removed or have a false diagnosis of cancer, but rather that they have cancer and it is not diagnosed," said study author Dr. Stephen S. Raab, a professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Fortunately, patient symptoms almost always lead clinicians to do the right thing and retest, and this will lead to finding the cancer and a proper diagnosis." Raab and his team observe that because U.S. hospitals lack national standards to help guide efforts to monitor error occurrence, it is difficult to compare the frequency, cause and effect of cancer misdiagnoses across facilities.

 
                                              
keywords: medical malpractice, claim,  attorney, failure to diagnose cancer, negligence, malpractice, delayed diagnosis, standard of care, 
missed diagnosis, New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, New York medical malpractice lawyer.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LINKS  

Failure to diagnose cancer, doctor's defenses Malpractice and standard of care
Failure to Detect Lung Cancer claims
What is cancer (chapter one from our upcoming book, A Complete Guide to Lung Cancer) 
medical malpractice and standard of care (a journal discussing medical malpractice standards of care including failure to diagnose cancer)
New York medical malpractice claims

medical malpractice lung cancer claims      cancer malpractice statute of limitations               
New York Cancer Malpractice claims         medical malpractice and clinical practice guidelines
New Jersey cancer malpractice claims       medical malpractice liability
Medical malpractice jury instruction          New York Medical malpractice law 
medical malpractice pre-existing cause     workers' compensation doctor liability for malpractice
malpractice and informed consent            lung cancer malpractice claim elements
Delayed diagnosis of cancer Kern article          Cancer pathology claims
Delayed diagnosis of cancer Sign article

How to contact us:
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keywords: medical malpractice, claim,  attorney, failure to diagnose cancer, negligence, malpractice, delayed diagnosis, standard of care, 
missed diagnosis, New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, New York medical malpractice lawyer.

About Us
 

Mr. Gutman is the author of Lung cancer and Mesothelioma (2006), a 480 page book which reviews chemotherapy, gene therapy, radiation, treatment for lung cancer, and medical malpractice questions.   He served as a caregiver for a family member with lung cancer, was a member of the board of directors of a leading cancer support group, and is an attorney specializing in lung cancer legal issues.  He combines the intellectual knowledge of someone who handles issues of lung cancer with the personal approach of someone who has dealt with cancer and confronted many of the difficult questions patients and family members confront.