Breast cancer survivors don't get regular mammograms

Breast cancer survivors aren't getting regular follow-up mammograms, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend annual mammograms for the early detection of recurrence in women who have had breast cancer. But a team led by Dr. Kathryn Ruddy from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, found that mammography rates declined over time as breast cancer survivors got further out from their diagnosis.

The researchers also found that black breast cancer survivors were less likely than their white counterparts to undergo regular mammography based on the recommended schedule.

Ruddy and colleagues followed 27,212 patients for a median of 2.9 years after breast cancer surgery. Of these, 4,790 patients remained in the study cohort for at least 65 months. One year out from surgery, 13% of the survivors had not undergone any breast imaging; this number rose to 19% by five years after surgery. Only 50% of the patients who were followed for at least five years had at least one mammogram each of those five years (J Natl Compr Canc Netw, May 2018, Vol. 16:5, pp. 526-534).

"Clinicians need to make sure that their patients are fully aware of the role annual mammograms play in screening for new breast cancers as well as for local recurrences," Ruddy said in a statement released by the NCCN. "Creating and implementing survivorship care plans with clear follow-up instructions may help ensure that more survivors adhere to recommended screening schedules."