A new meta-analysis of previous studies has reported that patients using surgeons who perform a high volume of breast cancer surgeries have the most favorable survival outcomes. The authors performed a systematic search to identify studies which have examined the effects of either hospital or surgeon volume on clinical outcome of breast cancer. Reviews, opinion articles and surveys were not included and the studies were critically evaluated on methodological quality and risk of bias. A total of 12 studies of good methodological quality were included in the meta-analysis.

A significant association between high volume providers and improved survival was found. Women using surgeons with high breast cancer volume were found to have 20% higher survival than surgeons with low volume. Hospital volume also influenced in-hospital mortality, although the rate of death was very low (0.1% to 0.2%).