Mammograms Can Save Lives of Women in Their 40s: Study

February 22nd, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) — Breast cancers in women
aged 40 to 49 that are diagnosed by mammograms have a better prognosis
than those detected by doctors or the women themselves, a new study
indicates.

“They have an earlier diagnosis, earlier stage, better prognosis,” said
study author Judith Malmgren, an affiliated professor of epidemiology at
the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community
Medicine. She is also president of HealthStat Consulting Inc. in
Seattle.

The new study, like previous ones, re-ignites the ongoing debate about
the best age to start routine mammograms and the best screening interval.
It appears in the March issue of the journal Radiology.

In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued mammogram
recommendations. It recommends women aged 50 to 74 who are at average risk
for breast cancer have a mammogram done every two years. It also suggests
that women aged 40 to 49 at average risk discuss the pros and cons with
their doctors and decide on an individual basis if and when to start
screening.

Meanwhile, other organizations, including the American Cancer Society,
recommend women begin mammograms at age 40 and continue to have them
annually.

Malmgren and her colleagues evaluated nearly 2,000 women who had breast
cancer. All were aged 40 to 49 when they were treated between 1990 and
2008.

The researchers looked at the method of diagnosis, whether by mammogram
or if the cancer was found by the doctor or the woman. They also took
these into account: the cancer’s stage at diagnosis; type of treatment;
annual follow-up; recurrence; and survival.

Over the 18-year period, the number of breast cancers diagnosed at very
early stages increased 66 percent, while the number of more advanced
cancers (stage 3) decreased by 66 percent.

Those whose cancers were detected by mammogram rose from 28 percent in
1990 to 58 percent in 2008. The number of cancers detected by doctor or
patients declined from 73 percent in 1990 to 42 percent in 2008.

Women whose cancers were detected by mammograms were more likely than
the doctor- or patient-detected cancers to have lumpectomy or other
breast-conserving surgery: 67 percent vs. 48 percent. The women whose
cancers were detected by mammograms were less likely to be given
chemotherapy.

While 4 percent of women whose cancer was found on mammogram died
during a follow-up period that ranged from one to 20 years, 11 percent of
those whose cancers were found by the doctor or the women died.

When the researchers looked only at invasive cancers, 92 percent of the
women whose cancer was found on mammogram survived without recurrence at
five years; 88 percent of the other group did.

“I don’t think the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is looking at
the whole picture,” Malmgren said. “They are concentrating on the
harms.”

Among them, according to the 2009 guidelines, are false-positives,
which can lead to anxiety and unnecessary biopsies.

Malmgren, a breast cancer survivor, says more focus should be placed on
the benefit of early diagnosis, because it often means less treatment is
needed.

There was a decrease found in cancers being diagnosed at later stages
in those whose cancers were found on mammograms. “That’s where the money
is,” Malmgren said.

Dr. Virginia Moyer, chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
and a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, reviewed the
study. “The findings make sense,” she said.

They found that cancers can be detected earlier by mammogram. “A
screening test, if it can’t find something earlier than [by] clinical
presentation, is a poor test,” she said.

However, she said, the study does not provide support for all women
aged 40 to 49 to have routine mammograms.

When considering its recommendation, the task force took all available
evidence into account, including published studies, Moyer noted. “The data
from randomized trials and modeling show there is a very modest
improvement in mortality with mammograms from 40 to 49,” she said.

“Because it is so modest and there are risks, people need to make their
own decision,” Moyer said.

More information

To learn more about mammograms, go to the U.S. National Cancer
Institute.