Annual breast cancer screening starting at age 40 cuts mastectomy risk

WASHINGTON - Researchers have said that having a yearly mammogram greatly reduces the risk of mastectomy following breast cancer in women between the ages of 40 and 50.

“The results of this study support the importance of regular screening in the 40 to 50 age group,” said lead author Nicholas M. Perry, director of The London Breast Institute at The Princess Grace Hospital in London.

“Women in this age group who had undergone mammography the previous year had a mastectomy rate of less than half that of the others.”

The researchers studied the benefits of screening women between the ages of 40 and 50, the frequency of mammography and the type of treatment after breast cancer diagnosis.

Perry and colleagues reviewed the clinical data available on women from 40 to 50 that had been diagnosed with breast cancer and treated at The London Breast Institute.

At the time of diagnosis, 393 of the women were under 50, with 156 of these women completing treatment at the center.

Of the treated women, 114 had no prior mammograms. Forty-two women had been previously screened with mammography, of whom 29 had at least one mammogram within the previous two years. Of those, 16 women had a mammogram one year prior.

Data showed that mastectomy was the required treatment for 3 of the 16 women who had been screened the prior year, compared to 64 of the 140 women who had not been screened in the past year.

“Regular screening is already proven to lower the chance of women dying from breast cancer,” Perry said.

“The results of our study support the importance of regular screening in the under-50 age group and confirm that annual mammography improves the chances of breast conservation should breast cancer develop,” he added.

The finding was presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). (ANI)