Oscar Tahuahua, Medical Oncology Fellow at the National Cancer Institute of Mexico, shared a post on X:
“More than 1 in 2 cancer patients could receive a different treatment just based on who reviews their case.
In a retrospective study at Stanford (n=657)
- 53.8% had a treatment change (34% minor, 20% major)
77% stage III–IV (III 19.8%, IV 57.1%)
- Interestingly, stage II had the highest rate of change (64%) vs ~45% in I/III
24.7% international pts
Evaluated by subspecialty experts, most commonly MedOnc (67.6%)
Not because the first plan was wrong.,
but because oncology is complex, variable, and evolving.
This may help explain why outcomes differ.
However, this likely reflects selection bias, with younger, more proactive users, often women with breast cancer.
Bottom line: a second opinion can change your treatment, your outcome and your costs.”
Title: Virtual Second-Opinion Delivery for Oncology Patients
Authors: Aadit P. Shah, Siyu Shi, Thomas Y. Sun, Manali I. Patel, Sumit A. Shah.
Other articles featuring Oscar Tahuahua on OncoDaily.
