At what age is it appropriate to have a mammogram?

Breast cancer is a serious problem and a cause of death for women. Early detection of the tumor and determination of its nature can prevent fatal consequences.

Mammography is a method of examining the mammary glands for the presence of neoplasms in the mammary gland. Mammography allows you to see even the smallest tumors and establish a diagnosis not a few years earlier than a doctor will establish it when examining a woman. This allows you to start treatment of breast cancer in a timely manner and achieve positive results and stable remission.

Breast cancer screening. Advantages and disadvantages of mammography.

Mammography is recommended by medical standards for women over 40 every year.

Like many other imaging modalities, mammography has its advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits of mammography:

• The possibility of detecting breast cancer at an early stage.
• Screening mammography increases the rate of detection of small neoplasms that are confined to the milk ducts and are defined as ductal carcinoma. When the tumor is removed at this stage, it does not pose any danger.
• Mammography is helpful in detecting other forms of breast cancer (invasive ductal and lobular cancer).
• This type of examination involves radiation exposure to the chest only. X-rays do not reach other parts of the body.
• X-rays for diagnostic purposes do not cause side effects.

Disadvantages and risks of mammography:

• Mammography radiation dose is variable.
• Excessive exposure to radiation during mammography increases the risk of developing malignant neoplasms. Regardless, the benefits outweigh the risks.
• 5-15% of cases require additional testing due to a false positive result. If any changes are detected, a biopsy and dynamic observation are prescribed. In annual mammograms in women aged 40-49 years, a false-positive result for breast cancer is detected in 30% of patients, with a biopsy, only 8% of them are positive.

Women should always tell their doctor if they are pregnant before having a mammogram.

At what age should women get mammograms?

Recently, the question of the age up to which it is advisable to carry out mammography and with what frequency has begun to be considered. Opinions differed on this issue.

News and analytical agencies say that older women should also have breast examinations with the help of a mammograph. The work of Washington professor Judith Malmgren proved that women over 75 should have mammograms. "The main purpose of mammography is to diagnose cancer at an early stage, when the body is still responding to treatment," said the professor. After all, when breast cancer is detected at a late stage, the result is usually lethal.

A study was made of the case histories of patients who had been diagnosed with breast cancer for 21 years (from 1990 to 2011). Analysis of the study showed that in 1100 patients over the age of 75, breast cancer was diagnosed at an early stage.

For all that, mammograms during that period had the lowest mortality rate. So, about 98% of women a few years after the diagnosis continued to live. And when invasive breast cancer was detected by patients or doctors, the mortality rate was higher - only 85% of women survived 5 years after diagnosis. But so far, the evidence linking mammograms to longevity is not well defined.

Not all doctors agree with Professor Malmgren's opinion. Thus, the surgeon-oncologist Liefers from the University of Leiden considers this opinion unconvincing, substantiating this with his observations, which were formulated in 2014. He established on his patients that mammography examination of patients after 70 years of age does not reduce the number of established breast cancer diagnoses, moreover, mammography carries the risk of side effects.

Mammography in the control of breast cancer

Professor Malmgren states that women over 75 should have a mammogram once a year. And Dr. Lifers advises that each woman should be assessed for her individual breast cancer risk and mortality risk before going for a mammogram.

The question remains open, but the fact that after 40 years of age women should do mammography - no one doubts. This is especially true for those women who have had cases of breast cancer in their family.

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