By Isobel Williams via SWNS
Annual breast cancer screenings from the age of 40 reduce women’s risk of death by more than 40 percent, according to a new study.
Research has shown that less than half of women go for potentially lifesaving annual breast cancer screenings, despite the huge body of evidence suggesting that it is the best way to diagnose cancer early.
Scientists from the Radiological Society of North America found that annual breast cancer screening beginning at age 40 and continuing to at least age 79 results in the highest reduction in mortality with minimal risks.
To get their results, published in the journal Radiology, the team analyzed a set of breast cancer screening outcomes in the US.
They compared the benefits of screening, including mortality reduction, life years gained, breast cancer deaths averted, and its risks—including benign, or unnecessary, biopsies and recall rates—for four different scenarios.
The scenarios were biennial screening of women 50 to 74, biennial screening of women 40 to 74, annual screening 40 to 74, and annual screening 40 to 79.
The research team found that annual screening of women 40 to 79 with either digital mammography or tomosynthesis showed the highest mortality reduction of 41.7 percent.
The screenings also have the lowest per mammogram false-positive screens (6.5 percent) and benign biopsies (0.88 percent) compared to other screening scenarios.
Biennial screening of women 50 to 74 and 40 to 74 showed mortality reduction of 25.4 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
Lead researcher Professor Debra Monticciolo, of Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, said: “There is an ongoing debate over the recommendations for breast cancer screening, specifically about when to start and the frequency of screening.
“The biggest takeaway point of our study is that annual screening beginning at 40 and continuing to at least age 79 gives the highest mortality reduction, the most cancer deaths averted, and the most years of life gained.
“There’s a huge benefit to screening annually until at least 79 and even more benefit if women are screened past 79.”
The team conducted their study after a nationwide drop in screening participation was seen in America following a 2009 recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to screen every other year, or biennially, beginning at age 50.
The researchers note that the chance of a woman having a benign biopsy following annual screening is less than one percent, and all recall rates for screening mammography are under 10 percent.
The recall rate decreased to 6.5 percent in annual screening with tomosynthesis.
Professor Monticciolo hopes that these findings will encourage more women to get annual screenings so that they can detect cancer early on.
She said: “This paper is important because it shows once again that there’s a tremendous increase in mortality benefit by screening annually between the ages of 40 and 79, and that the chances of experiencing harm are low on a per-exam basis.
“It comes down to valuing women’s lives. I am hoping that primary care physicians see that risks of screening are manageable, and the benefits are tremendous. We need to do this for women.”
Prof Monticciolo added: “The risks of screening are non-lethal and manageable for most women.
“But advanced breast cancer is often lethal. Breast cancer is easier to treat if it’s found earlier; we’re able to spare women extra surgeries and chemotherapy.
“It’s just a better idea to shift to early detection, and that’s what screening does.”
