The new US recommendations confirm that a mammogram every two years for women aged 50 to 74 is the best strategy.
The debate around mammography is revived in the United States. A panel of experts estimates that women without particular risk of breast cancer can wait until the age of 50 to be screened. They publish thetheir recommendations this Tuesday in Annals of Internal Medicine.
These recommendations run counter to those issued in October by the American Cancer Society. She advised 45-year-old women to have a mammogram per year. Previously, they even suggested including 40-year-old women in organized screening.
But for the group of experts who concluded with the same recommendations as in 2009, “a mammogram every 2 years for women aged 50 to 74 at moderate risk provides the best balance between the benefits and the dangers of screening”, they explained.
The French model is relevant
In fact, before age 50, mammograms often lead to false positives and overdiagnosis. Heavy psychological consequences for women that the majority of specialists prefer to avoid. Also, the group of American experts chooses to let young women decide. Nothing prevents them, in fact, from performing a mammogram apart from the organized screening.
To make these recommendations, the researchers used mathematical simulations to analyze the impact of different screening strategies. They then determined that a mammogram every 2 years between the ages of 50 and 74 reduced the risk of death from breast cancer by 26%, or 7 deaths avoided per 1,000 women. While starting screening at 40 only saves one in 1,000 women.
These new American recommendations confirm that the French national screening program is relevant and makes it possible to reduce mortality from breast cancer.
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