New Look at Past Studies Highlights Importance of Mammograms By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Often-conflicting results from studies on the value of routine mammography have only fueled the debate about how often women should get a mammogram and at what age they should start.

In a new analysis 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 consistent across the large studies than previously thought. All the studies showed a substantial reduction in breast cancer deaths with mammography screening.

"Women should be reassured that [mammography] is quite effective," said study researcher Robert Smith, senior director 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 issue of the journal Breast Cancer Management.

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

In assessing mammography's benefits and harms, researchers often look at the number of women who must be screened to prevent one death from breast cancer -- a number that has ranged widely among studies.

In assessing harms, experts take 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 problematic in a woman's lifetime) and anxiety associated with additional testing.

Smith's team looked at four large, well-known reviews of the benefit of mammography. These included the Nordic Cochrane review, the U.K. Independent Breast Screening Review, the USPSTF review and the European Screening Network review.

To standardize the estimates of how many women need to be screened to prevent one breast cancer death, the researchers applied the data from each of the four reviews to the scenario used in the U.K. study.