About half of eligible women fail to get mammograms

SAN ANTONIO - Even when insurance is not an issue, approximately half of women who are eligible to receive a mammogram do not get the test for early detection of breast cancer, according to a presentation today at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

"We are reporting a lower than expected prevalence of mammography based on public outcry following the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations," said Milayna Subar, MD, vice president and national practice leader for oncology for Medco Health Solutions in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

"Women reacted strongly to the recommendation for having mammograms every other year from age 50 to 64," she said at a news briefing at the meeting. "Interestingly, though, we found that a large percentage of women do not get regular mammograms."

In fact, Subar's review of medical claims data among 1.5 million women ages 40 and older found that only about 50% of women from 2006 to 2009 were getting yearly mammograms. All of the women in the study have insurance that would pay for the mammograms, so cost should not have been an issue, Subar said.

Among women ages 40 to 49, 47% had an annual breast x-ray. For women ages 50 to 64, about 54% had the examination, and among women older than 65, approximately 45% had a mammogram.

Judy Garber, MD, associate professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School in Boston, said that the results of the study are also concerning because the rate of mammography might be even lower among women who are uninsured or underinsured. Garber moderated a news briefing at the symposium that discussed the findings.

Subar suggested that conflicting guidelines may be affecting women. The different recommendations may leave women feeling confused, she said, and that may translate into inaction.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and various other cancer groups have long recommended that women get annual mammograms beginning at age 40. In November 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts, said women in their 40s at average risk for cancer do not need mammograms, and women 50 years and older need them only every two years.

The goal of the U.S. government's Healthy People 2010 project for improving the overall health of Americans was to achieve 70% compliance for women at least 40 years of age to have undergone a mammogram within the past two years, Subar noted. This goal was not met when last reported, with a compliance level of 67% in 2005. "This study shows that as of 2009 the goal has still not been achieved," she said.

"Continued public education and access to mammography are of utmost importance to reaching target goals for breast cancer screening," she said.

By Edward Susman
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
December 9, 2010

Related Reading

Annual mammograms reduce mastectomy risk in younger women, December 6, 2010

Mammo screening reduces death rate in medium-risk women, November 19, 2010

Mammograms saved lives of women under 50: study, September 30, 2010

Norwegian research questions benefit of mammograms, September 23, 2010

The breast screening hullabaloo: Where are we today? August 19, 2010

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