Mammography
New York State Department Of Health
Cancer Services Program
Mammography Facts
The efficacy of screening mammography has been the subject of debate especially, after a Danish study claimed that the clinical trials of screening mammography had procedural and other flaws. The publication of a study in the journal Cancer* that involved a third of the women in Sweden refutes the claims that mammography is not beneficial and confirms that reductions in breast cancer mortality can be achieved in screening programs through the use of mammography. In addition, research from eight large randomized clinical trials has shown that screening mammograms can reduce breast cancer mortality by more than 30%.
Mammography, in conjunction with a clinical breast exam is still the best way to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage — an average of 1-3 years before a woman can feel the lump.
Over the past 25 years, deaths from breast cancer in the U. S. have declined by nearly 16%. These decreases are attributed to earlier detection through mammography and also improved treatments. The five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer that has not spread beyond the breast is 96.5%. Death rates from breast cancer showed their first significant decline between 1989 and 1995 with the advent of mammography, dropping 1.6% each year. The percent of invasive breast cancer that is detected at an early stage in New York has increased from 52% in 1985 to 67% in 1998.
Current Recommendations Related to Mammography:
- Independent expert groups in the U.S. and Europe have repeatedly subjected the world's major clinical studies of mammography to careful scientific scrutiny. In addition to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the following organizations continue to recommend that women get annual screening mammograms:
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Cancer Society
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American College of Surgeons
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Cancer Research Foundation of America
- National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations
- National Medical Association
- Oncology Nursing Society
- Society of Gynecological Oncology
- Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
- In February 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services strengthened its recommendation for screening mammography by lowering the age from 50 to 40 when women should start getting regular annual mammograms.
Women can get high-quality mammograms in, breast clinics, radiology departments of hospitals, mobile vans, and private radiology offices. New York State Healthy Women Partnerships provide free breast and cervical screening services to low-income women throughout the state. The priority population for screening through this program is women ages 40 and older who are at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and who lack health insurance or whose health insurance coverage is inadequate or who cannot meet their deductible obligations for purposes of accessing coverage under their health insurance. The NYSDOH Web site Cancer Services Program Partnerships contains a directory of local partnerships, contact names and phone numbers to call for an appointment.
*Duffy SW, Tabar L, Chen H-H, et al. The impact of organized mammography service screening on breast carcinoma mortality in seven Swedish counties: a Collaborative Evaluation. Cancer. 2002; 95: 458-469.
Pub. #0424 5/03