A new study finds older breast cancer patients who were screened at least once during the five years prior to diagnosis had 54% lower odds of advanced disease.
Mammograms after the age of 70 may lower the risk of late-stage breast cancer and death from the disease, a new study finds.
But there are currently differing guidelines for screening older women.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends breast cancer screening through the age of 74, but says there is insufficient evidence of benefit beyond that.
The American Cancer Society says women over 55 should be screened every other or every year if they are healthy and expected to live more than 10 years.
This new study included about 13,000 women, 70-79 years of age, who were diagnosed with estrogen receptor-positive or HER2-negative breast cancer.
Researchers looked at how many of the participants had mammograms during the five years prior to diagnosis.
The results showed women who had at least one mammogram during that time period had a 54% lower risk of developing late-stage breast cancer and a 36% lower risk of dying from the disease.
Having 3 or 4 prior screenings was associated with even better mortality outcomes.
The authors say, “These results support the potential benefit of continued routine screening among older women.”
Source: JAMA Network Open
Author Affiliations: Yale University
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