Mammograms Could Cause Breast Cancer in High-Risk Young Women, Study Warns

The very test that was designed to detect breast cancer may actually cause breast cancer in high risk young women, a study presented this week at the Radiology Society of North America (RSNA) suggests. These preliminary findings put women who have the so-called "breast cancer gene" or a family history of breast cancer in a pickle about whether to get the early or frequent mammograms many doctors recommend.

A Dutch epidemiologist told medical experts at the radiology conference, "For women at high risk for breast cancer, screening is very important, but a careful approach should be taken when considering mammography for screening young women, particularly under age 30." The researcher, Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide, Ph.D., from the Department of Epidemiology and Radiology at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, warned doctors, "Further, repeated exposure to low-dose radiation should be avoided."

Ideally, young women at high risk for breast cancer will avail themselves of safer screening methods that do not involve exposure to potentially cancer causing radiation. Such methods could include sonograms and MRIs, tests which are currently performed in addition to--not instead of--mammograms.

The study findings were presented at the annual radiology conference in Chicago not even a month after a government task force's recommendation to discontinue routine mammograms for all women between the ages of 40 and 49 stirred up controversy and confusion among millions of women. The government panel advised women to discuss the benefits and risks of regular mammogram screenings for breast cancer with their health care providers instead of blanketly following a one-size-fits all approach.

While most mainstream cancer advocacy groups such as the American Cancer Society continued to vehemently push for routine mammograms for all women over 40 after the government task force released its new recommendation, there was no consensus about the benefits of mammograms for women under the age 40. The American Cancer Society, however, still advises high risk women to have MRIs and mammograms every year starting at about age 30.

The Dutch researchers obtained their new findings about the risk of getting breast cancer from mammograms by analyzing existing reputable studies on the effects of exposure to low-dose radiation on young women who are at greater risk for getting breast cancer. Depending on the frequency and ages of exposure, the increased risk of getting breast cancer was 1.5 to 2.5 times greater for high risk women who had mammograms at a young age than for those who did not.

The analysis covered a relatively small sample of women and did not consider women with average risk for getting breast cancer, factors which critics of the study are likely to highlight as the study results gain wider public attention.

Sources:
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
http://www.rsna.org//
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/pocketgd09/gcp09s2.htm#BreastScreening