An Overdose of Mammograms?
Reported July 31, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Are mammograms necessary every year? According to a study comparing a European system of breast cancer screening with an American system, maybe not.
In the United States, experts recommend women receive yearly mammograms after age 40. On the other hand, in Norway and some other European countries women are encouraged to be screened every two years.
Researchers recently compared the organized, population-based breast cancer screening program in Norway with a referral-based approach in Vermont. Results show the two systems were equally effective in detecting breast cancer.
Although mammography strategies in Norway and Vermont detected breast cancer at about the same rate and at the same prognostic stage, the rate of interval cancers was higher in Vermont. However, tumors detected in Vermont tended to be at an earlier stage than in Norway. In addition, more than three times as many women were called back for a second screening in Vermont.
“Our results demonstrate that despite its longer screening interval, the organized population-based screening program in Norway achieved similar outcomes as the opportunistic screening in Vermont,” study authors wrote.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2008;100:1082-1091