Family history data support annual mammograms in 40s
Women aged 40–49 years with and without a family history of breast cancer had almost the same rates of invasive disease in a retrospective analysis of data on more than 1,000 patients diagnosed over a 10-year period at a single site.
The finding adds weight to the American Cancer Society’s recommendation in favor of annual screening mammograms for women beginning at age 40, said principal author Dr. Stamatia V. Destounis of Elizabeth Wende Breast Care LLC in Rochester, NY. Dr. Destounis presented the results of her study in a press briefing.
A study presented at last year’s meeting by researchers at the London Breast Institute of the Princess Grace Hospital indicated that annual mammograms could reduce by half the risk of mastectomy in women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between the ages of 40 and 50 years.
Both studies challenge the recommendation against routine annual mammography for women under the age of 50 made in 2009 by the US Preventive Services Task Force. ...
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