A US study reveals that women over 75 who have not had regular mammograms would be at a higher risk of death.
Women over 75 who do not have breast cancer screenings regularly are at higher risk of death if cancer is diagnosed. This is what shows an American study presented at the congress of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) which is held in Washington from April 6 to 10.
Professor Michael Simon, a specialist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, analyzed data from 8,663 women from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) who were diagnosed with breast cancer. In the analysis, the researchers found that a longer interval between the last mammogram and diagnosis was associated with a significantly increased risk of breast cancer mortality in women aged 75 and older at the time of diagnosis.
As proof, these elderly women who had an interval of five years and more between the last mammogram and the diagnosis or those who had never had a mammogram had a three times higher risk of death from breast cancer than those whose interval was six months to a year. These relationships have not been found in younger women.
“I’m not sure why we are seeing these results especially in older women. Tumors in younger women are more likely to be somewhat more unfavorable overall. It is possible that these differences are related to a more aggressive nature of tumors than in younger women. Other explanations may come from different treatments or from information that is not available in this cohort, ”comments Professor Simon.
He said doctors should discuss the risks and benefits of mammography with older women and encourage them to continue screening. Professor Simon’s team, for example, suggests continuing regular mammograms every year or every two years. “But, as with younger women, this should be considered based on the overall health of each woman individually,” the study concludes.
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