Practice Guideline - Breast Cancer Screening
MCI guidelines for mammograms in asymptomatic women are:
Age 40 to 50: Mammography every 1-2
years with counseling
about the risks and
benefits of mammography
in this age group.
Age 50 to 69: Mammography yearly.
Age 70 and up: Mammography yearly
depending on co-morbid
disease
Benefits – among the benefits of
screening mammography
for women age 40 - 49
are:
- For every 1000
women turning 40
this year, about 15
will develop breast
cancer by their 50th
birthday.
- For women age
40-49 having regular
mammograms for 10
years will prevent
about 1 breast
cancer death for
every 2000 women.
Risks – among the
risks of screening
mammography for women
age 40 – 49 are:
- Radiation
exposure associated
with annual
screening
mammography has a
theoretical risk of
up to one additional
cancer death per
10,000 women
screened.
- False positive
results (5% of women
age 40 – 49 will
have a false
positive mammogram)
leading to unneeded
anxiety and
biopsies.
Among women age 40
–49 with a
“positive” mammogram
98% will not have
cancer.
- False negative
readings
(mammography will
detect only about
80% of cancers in
this age group –
compared with 90%
after age 50)
leading to false
reassurance causing
a patient to ignore
a palpable lesion.
Source for benefits
and risk:
AAFP Web
site accessed 11-21-06
http://www.aafp.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/clinical/
patient_ed/mammography.Par.0001.File.tmp/breast_cancer_long.pdf
Variation from
this guideline is always
acceptable if, in the
opinion of the attending
physician, individual
circumstances require
it. |
