The first guidelines for the clinical management of breast cancer in the State were introduced yesterday by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin.
Published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the guidelines outline best practice in the treatment of a patient with breast cancer.
They follow the report of the sub-group of the National Cancer Forum: The Development of Services for Symptomatic Breast Cancer, which set out the organisation, structure and personnel required in the management of breast disease. The report's recommendations, which include the centralisation of breast cancer services to specialised units, have led to protests from local patient groups in Castlebar and Ennis.
Prof Niall O'Higgins, chairman of the RCSI's clinical guidelines committee, said that "a consistent approach to the management of breast cancer, based on multidisciplinary team management, is required if we are to improve the results achieved in breast cancer treatment".
The guidelines set out the elements essential for a high quality breast cancer service, including surgery, oncology, radiotherapy and a specialist breast care nursing service. They also outline the role of the GP, including a definition of what constitutes an urgent referral.
One recommendation is that a surgeon should discuss with the patient, in the presence of the breast care nurse, the benefits and risks of minimally invasive surgery compared with those of mastectomy.
The guidelines recommend there should be a breast unit for every 300,000 people in the State. They also specify that a minimum 100 new breast cancer patients be treated in each unit every year.
More than 1,650 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the State each year. The mortality rate of breast cancer here, at 43 per cent, contrasts with an EU average of 37 per cent.