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A new study by Canadian researchers recently published on the Journal of Clinical Oncology may inform screening guidelines for women age 40-49 years: results show that screening programs for women in their 40s were associated with a significantly higher 10-year breast cancer net survival in women age 40-49 years, but not an increased rate of breast cancer diagnosis.
The study was conducted in Canada, where some provincial/territorial mammography screening programs include women age 40-49 years, whereas others do not: authors evaluated the impact of these different screening programs on 10-year net survival and incidence-based mortality rate ratios among women age 40-49 years and 50-59 years at diagnosis. Results show that breast cancer was the primary cause of 10-year mortality among women age 40-49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, with an incidence of the tumor not increased among women age 40-49 years living in screening jurisdictions but increased among women age 50-59 years in comparator jurisdictions. The 10-year net survival for women participating in screening programs was 1.9 percentage points higher than that for comparators, particularly among women age 45-49 years (by 2.6 percentage points). As authors conclude, «Despite suboptimal screening participation and a cohort diagnosed before two major treatment advances, this study suggests that breast cancer screening programs for women age 40-49 years may translate into a significant survival benefit. Screening detects most breast cancers when they are early stage, resulting in less morbidity from treatment. Concerns regarding overdetection of breast cancer among women in their 40s may be attenuated not only by the higher breast cancer survival noted in screener jurisdictions but also by the similarity of breast cancer incidence rates between screener and comparator jurisdictions among women in their 40s and the finding that breast cancer has a relatively large impact on overall mortality in women in this age group with a breast cancer diagnosis. The findings of this study can be used to inform decision making regarding screening guidelines for women in their 40s».
A new study by Canadian researchers recently published on the Journal of Clinical Oncology may inform screening guidelines for women age 40-49 years: results show that screening programs for women in their 40s were associated with a significantly higher 10-year breast cancer net survival in women age 40-49 years, but not an increased rate of breast cancer diagnosis.
The study was conducted in Canada, where some provincial/territorial mammography screening programs include women age 40-49 years, whereas others do not: authors evaluated the impact of these different screening programs on 10-year net survival and incidence-based mortality rate ratios among women age 40-49 years and 50-59 years at diagnosis. Results show that breast cancer was the primary cause of 10-year mortality among women age 40-49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, with an incidence of the tumor not increased among women age 40-49 years living in screening jurisdictions but increased among women age 50-59 years in comparator jurisdictions. The 10-year net survival for women participating in screening programs was 1.9 percentage points higher than that for comparators, particularly among women age 45-49 years (by 2.6 percentage points). As authors conclude, «Despite suboptimal screening participation and a cohort diagnosed before two major treatment advances, this study suggests that breast cancer screening programs for women age 40-49 years may translate into a significant survival benefit. Screening detects most breast cancers when they are early stage, resulting in less morbidity from treatment. Concerns regarding overdetection of breast cancer among women in their 40s may be attenuated not only by the higher breast cancer survival noted in screener jurisdictions but also by the similarity of breast cancer incidence rates between screener and comparator jurisdictions among women in their 40s and the finding that breast cancer has a relatively large impact on overall mortality in women in this age group with a breast cancer diagnosis. The findings of this study can be used to inform decision making regarding screening guidelines for women in their 40s».
