AHRQ: New data show 36% increase in mastectomies

Editor's Note

Though cancer rates have remained the same, the rate of women having mastectomies increased 36% between 2005 and 2013, according to new data released February 22 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The analysis also showed the rate of double mastectomies more than tripling, and both single and double mastectomies increasingly being performed on an outpatient basis--45% were performed in hospital-based ambulatory surgery settings in 2013.

Data released today by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) show that while breast cancer rates have remained constant, the rate of women undergoing mastectomies increased 36 percent between 2005 and 2013, including a more than tripling of double mastectomies. AHRQ's analysis also shows that both single and double mastectomies are increasingly performed as outpatient procedures.