Women in their forties who have had mammography are less likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer.

The benefits of regular mammography for women over 50 are well documented. What is less clear is whether it also helps younger women. A new study, covering 247 women aged between 42 and 49 diagnosed with breast cancer shows that those who had mammograms were less likely to have advanced disease.

In the group, 39 per cent who had mammography had a late-stage cancer, compared to 52 per cent of unscreened women. When factors such as age are taken into account, this translates into a 44 per cent reduced risk of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, if you have regular mammograms in your forties. Mammography could, therefore, help women in this age group by picking up cancer at an earlier stage, where it is easier to treat successfully.

Source

Cancer 3rd January 2003 (online) 15th January (print version)