A new study examining the effectiveness of screening mammography reveals these findings: the rate of breast cancer detection is higher (up 19.3 percent) in women ages 40–49 compared to the screening population ages 50 and above. The additional cancers detected translate to an overall 1.5% increase in callbacks and 0.1% in increased biopsies.

The new findings will be presented by Abid Irshad of the Medical University of South Carolina at the ARRS 2018 Annual Meeting, which will take place in Washington, DC on 22-27 April.

For this study, researchers looked at more than 41,000 screening mammography exams in order to determine callbacks and recall rate, the number of biopsies performed and cancers detected, as well as the sensitivity and specificity of screening mammography. Key findings include:

- A total of 41,028 mammograms were performed with 5,196 callbacks (12.7% recall rate), 1,164 biopsies, and 326 cancers detected.
- Women ages 40–49 had 8,913 mammograms, 1,518 callbacks (17% recall rate), 306 biopsies, and 52 cancers detected.
- Women ages 50–59 had 13,288 mammograms, 1,659 callbacks (12.5% recall rate), 371 biopsies, and 103 cancers detected.
- Women ages 60–69 had 12,119 mammograms, 1,239 callbacks (10.2% recall rate), 302 biopsies and 89 cancers detected.

Overall, the women ages 50 and over had a total of 31,385 mammograms, 3,504 callbacks (11.2% recall rate), 836 biopsies, and 270 cancers detected. By adding the women ages 40–49 to the screening population of 50 and over, the overall callback rate increased 1.5%, the biopsy rate increased 0.1% and 19.3% more cancers were detected.

The study results showed that there was a higher number of callbacks among women ages 40–49 compared to women ages 50–59 (17% compared with 12.5%) and to women ages 60–69 (17% compared with 10.2%), the researchers explain. In addition, the study found a lower positive biopsy rate among women ages 40–49 compared with women over 50. The number of cancers detected in women ages 40–49 was not significantly different from women ages 50–59 or 60–69, according to the researchers.

Source: ARRS
Image Credit: Pixabay

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Mammography, breast cancer screening, biopsies, ARRS 2018 According to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2018 Annual Meeting, screening mammography in women ages 40–49 detects 19.3% additional cancers at the expense of an overall 1.5% increase in callbacks and 0.1% in increased biopsies.