The Washington Post reports that the American College of Physicians "is challenging the widely accepted recommendation that women routinely undergo mammograms in their 40s, saying the risks of the breast exams may outweigh the benefits for many women."
Some Post quotes and excerpts:
"We agree that mammography can save lives," said Douglas K. Owens of Stanford University, who chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines, being published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "But there are also potential harms. We don't think the evidence supports a blanket recommendation.""I think it's right on target," said Russell Harris of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which issues the federal government's official recommendations on preventive medicine. "I would like to see more women stop and think about the decision."
The new guidelines come less than a week after the American Cancer Society issued guidelines that, for the first time, recommend that women at greatest risk of breast cancer also undergo annual MRI exams. That triggered a similar debate over the risks and benefits of aggressive screening.Owens acknowledged that the conflicting recommendations may confuse some women, but he said the panel concluded that it is important to present a realistic assessment.
"All we're saying is that women should be informed about the risks and benefits so they can make a decision based on all the facts," Owens said.
"We would all want this to be a simple issue, but it is not," said Carolina Hinestrosa of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, a Washington-based advocacy group. "Women need to know the truth and deserve it from their physicians."Doctors and researchers were similarly divided. While some endorsed the guidelines, others said drawing a sharp distinction between the 40s and 50s is arbitrary.
"I think it's an outrage," said Daniel B. Kopans, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School. "This really is misleading women."
This news is not shocking. As the Post points out, the mammography recommendations for women in their 40s "have long been mired in controversy, with some researchers saying that the benefit in that age group is marginal and that the testing subjects thousands to overdiagnosis and overtreatment."
Posted by schwitz at April 3, 2007 10:19 AM | TrackBack