The research is based on data from nearly 60,000 women who underwent mammograms in the 1990s. Half had waited until they were 50 years old to undergo the first procedure, although a quarter of invasive breast tumors were detected in women younger than that age.
The authors believe that one of the main obstacles to solving this situation is that many doctors do not believe that mammograms before the age of 50 save lives.
Among other things, the American Cancer Society’s recommendations are based on data from Sweden, where routine mammography was introduced in 1987, leading to a 63% decrease in breast cancer mortality in women aged 40 to 69 years old.
In the current study it is found that only 20% of the participants undergo mammography each year after the age of 40.
Related Websites
Cancer
http://www.interscience.wiley.com/
Harvard Medical School
http://www.hms.harvard.edu/
American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/
