Odds of late-stage cancer diagnosis double when women put off annual breast cancer screening
New research offers further evidence supporting annual breast cancer screening, contradicting recent guidance recommending women be screened every other year.
Individuals who complete yearly screening are less likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer and have better rates of overall survival, according to new work published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“Only about 65% of women over age 40 are screened for breast cancer, and only about half of those women are getting annual screening—in part because of conflicting guidelines about recommended screening intervals,” lead author Margarita Zuley, MD, professor and chief of the Division of Breast Imaging in the Department of Radiology at Pitt and UPMC, said in a release on the findings. “Our study shows that there is a significant benefit for annual screening over biennial screening, including in premenopausal women.”
In April, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released updated breast cancer screening recommendations. The new guidelines recommend that all women at average risk of cancer undergo screening mammograms every other year starting at age 40. Previously, the recommended age was 50 and the suggested interval between exams was one year.
Many experts, physicians and patient advocates were quick to criticize the guidelines, as most medical societies, including the American College of Radiology, endorse annual screening—a recommendation that is backed by numerous studies.
This latest research analyzed a database of 8,145 breast cancer patients who had at least one mammogram on record prior to their diagnosis. The patients’ diagnoses were compared alongside the interval between their screenings.
The amount of time passed was found to be associated with the likelihood of late-stage cancers diagnosed. In women who underwent annual screening, the rate of late-stage cancers was 9%. This figure rose to 15% for biennial screening and nearly doubled in the intermittent group (at least 27 months between screenings), at 19%.
The overall survival rate was substantially worse in the biennial and intermittent groups as well, the authors noted.
“Annual mammograms are crucial for early detection of breast cancer, which increases the likelihood of survival, decreases harms to patients because treatment may not need to be as intense, makes recovery easier and can lower the cost of care,” Zuley said.
While there are some negative aspects to annual screening, such as increased instances of false positives, Zuley said that these potential harms do not outweigh the risk of missing cancers and giving them time to spread.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.