Mammogram Warns Against Cancer

Mammogram Warns Against Cancer.
Often-conflicting results from studies on the value of unvaried mammography have only fueled the question about how often women should get a mammogram and at what age they should start. In a new examination of previous research, experts have applied the same statistical yardstick to four large studies and re-examined the results. They found that the benefits are more uniform across the large studies than previously thought. All the studies showed a major reduction in breast cancer deaths with mammography screening.

So "Women should be reassured that mammography is truly effective," said study researcher Robert Smith, senior president of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society. Smith is scheduled to present the findings this week at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The findings also were published in the November originate of the newsletter Breast Cancer Management.

In 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an unallied group of national experts, updated its recommendation on mammography, advising women ancient 50 to 74 to get mammograms every two years, not annually.The group also advised women grey 40 to 49 to talk to their doctors about benefits and harms, and decide on an single basis whether to start screening. Other organizations, including the American Cancer Society, pursue to recommend annual screening mammograms beginning at age 40.

In assessing mammography's benefits and harms, researchers often demeanour at the number of women who must be screened to prevent one death from breast cancer - a gang that has ranged widely among studies. In assessing harms, experts deduce into account the possibility of false positives. Other possible harms include finding a cancer that would not otherwise have been found on screening (and not been difficult in a woman's lifetime) and anxiety associated with additional testing.

Smith's body looked at four large, well-known reviews of the benefit of mammography. These included the Nordic Cochrane review, the UK Independent Breast Screening Review, the USPSTF reconsider and the European Screening Network review. To systematize the estimates of how many women need to be screened to fend one breast cancer death, the researchers applied the data from each of the four reviews to the scenario worn in the UK study.

Before this standardized review, the number of women who must be screened to prevent one death ranged from 111 to 2000 centre of the studies. Smith's team found that estimates of the benefits and harms were all based on abundant situations. Different age groups were being screened, for instance, and different follow-up periods were used. Some studies looked at the loads of women for whom screening is offered and others looked at the include who actually got mammograms. There often is a huge difference between those two groups.

So "Thirty to 40 percent don't show up, and they are counted as having a mammogram although they did not when they meet one's Maker of breast cancer. This hugely depresses the benefits. If you don't have a want follow-up, you are not able to accurately measure the benefit. Some women pay the debt of nature 20 or more years after the diagnosis". After the researchers used a single, general scenario, the gap in benefit estimates among studies dropped substantially - ranging from 64 to 257 women who must be screened to avert a single death from breast cancer.

Dr Michael LeFevre, co-vice chairman of the USPSTF, reviewed the rejuvenated findings but was not involved in the study. "For women old 50 to 69, it confirms that mammography can reduce deaths from mamma cancer. The new analysis doesn't include women in their 40s, which is one of the central parts of the running debate about the use of screening mammography. The task force is in the process of updating the 2009 favourable mention who is also a professor of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri. "The update is not in reply to the re-analysis extenderdlx.com. It's standard timing for an update".