Mammography saves lives in the long haul; BI-RADS 3 dilemma

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

A new study published today in Radiology not only reaffirms that screening mammography saves lives, but also that screening's mortality reduction actually increases as women get older.

The new results come from the landmark Swedish Two-County Trial, which in the past has demonstrated mammography's effectiveness in reducing deaths from breast cancer, particularly for women ages 40 to 49. What's new about this week's study is that mammography's mortality benefit is higher -- a 30% reduction in deaths, compared with 28% in previous studies -- and that the benefit increased over time.

The researchers found that in a patient cohort followed for almost 30 years, most of the cancer deaths prevented would have occurred more than a decade after screening started.

The study serves as a rebuttal to the controversial 2009 screening guidelines released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which rescinded a recommendation that screening begin at age 40. Learn more in our Women's Imaging Digital Community by clicking here.

In other news in the community, we're featuring an article on the challenges presented by the BI-RADS 3 category, "probably benign." Women whose lesions are classified as BI-RADS 3 should be followed up, but many don't comply. Learn how to handle this dilemma by clicking here.

Finally, learn about the latest round of consolidation in women's imaging by clicking here, or visit our Women's Imaging Digital Community at women.auntminnie.com.