Study results highlight need for continued mammography in older women
According to recent study results, women aged 75 years and older were at an increased risk for breast cancer mortality when an extended period of time existed between their last mammogram and a breast cancer diagnosis.
For the study, researchers examined data from 8663 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer during a 12.2-year Women’s Health Initiative study follow-up.
Study results showed that a gap of 5 or more years between a woman’s last mammogram and a breast cancer diagnosis was linked with advanced-stage disease in 23% of women. When the interim was only 6 months to a year, only 20% of women presented with advanced-stage disease.
Researchers, upon performing an adjusted analysis, discovered that women aged 75 years or older at diagnosis with a gap of 5 years or more between mammogram and diagnosis faced a breast cancer mortality risk 3 times greater than that for women whose mammogram and diagnosis were separated by only 6 months to a year.
Study lead Michael S. Simon, MD, MPH, leader of the breast multidisciplinary team at Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI, and professor of internal medicine and oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, said, “Our findings suggest that regular mammography should be continued for older women every 1 or 2 years; however, as with younger women, mammography screening should be considered in light of the overall health of the individual woman.”
The research data were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2013.
Source: AACR.