About 50% of women with breast cancer undergo needless surgeries, extra procedures and unnecessary mastectomies because of improper diagnosis of the disease. On analyzing 8,000 patients with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), researchers found that 2,500 underwent mastectomies. The most surprising fact is that 49% of mastectomies conducted were unnecessary or were being carried out with failure of previous operations.

Researchers found that about 33% of women undergoing mastectomies had already underwent lumpectomy, minor procedure for removal of small lumps. About 21% of mastectomies were unnecessary as they were carried on women with small lumps which could be further avoided.

A survey on different hospitals have revealed about 60% of operations were carried out unnecessarily with women having only small lumps which could easily be treated with lumpectomy.

Dr. Jeremy Thomas, a consultant pathologist at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK, said that the main reason for increasing mastectomies is the lack of abilities of pathologists and radiologists to accurately plot the spread of disease.

About 5,000 women are diagnosed with DCIS every year in UK which accounts for 20% of cancers with 50% at increased risks of developing breast cancer when untreated. Researchers said that generally doctors fail to accurately measure the extent of size of cancerous cells in women, giving equal treatment to all patients.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Campaign, said that the findings address lack of practice among doctors in offering high quality standard care to patients with breast cancer.