Women 40 to 49 without a family history of breast cancer have the same propensity to develop invasive breast cancer than women whose mothers or sisters have suffered from the condition, according to a new study.
These preliminary findings support a recommendation that all women aged 40 to 49 years, annual mammograms, not just those with a family history of breast cancer , said Dr. Stamatia Destounis, a radiologist at Rochester, New York. It is generally believed that women without a family history are at low risk.
What is a mammogram?
Destounis evaluated patients with cancer who were treated from 2000 to 2010 in downtown Elizabeth Wende Breast Care. "Invasive cancer (which spread to the lymph nodes) was diagnosed in 64 percent of the patients without family history and 63 of the patients who had," he said.
Dr. Destounis presented these findings at the annual meeting of the Association of North America Radiology (Radiological Society of North America, RSNA) in Chicago, Tuesday, November 29.
When researchers looked at the aggressiveness of the cancer, found that 29 percent of cancers in women without a family history and 31 percent had a family history that had spread to the lymph nodes.
While some experts agree with Destounis that mammograms should begin at 40, others do not. The American Cancer Society recommends annual mammograms for women age forty. However, the Working Group of the U.S. Preventive Services recommends that women aged 40 to 49 talk about their medical tests and then make a decision.
The Working Group of the Canadian Preventive Health Care earlier this month recommended that women aged 40 to 49 at average risk is not routine mammograms.