Yearly mammogram screening for women with a family history of breast cancer could save lives
Giving women younger than 50 years who have a family history of breast cancer a mammogram every year will detect more cancers and could save lives, according to an article published in The Lancet Oncology.
Women with several relatives with breast cancer or with relatives who had breast cancer diagnosed early in life can be more than three times as likely to get the disease. It has been suggested that these women might benefit from more frequent mammogram screening or from starting screening at an earlier age than recommended by the UK National Health Service Breast Screening Programme, which currently offers 3-yearly mammography to all women aged 50–70 years.
Read the whole article at ecancer.org
Reference
- Duffy, S.W., Mackay, J., Thomas, S. et al. (2010). Mammographic surveillance in women younger than 50 years who have a family history of breast cancer: tumour characteristics and projected effect on mortality in the prospective, single-arm, FH01 study. The Lancet Oncology DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70263-1
Keywords: mammogram screening, breast cancer
18. 11. 2010 ecancer.org
