Last month may have been dedicated to breast cancer awareness, but research into the best ways to detect, treat and cure the disease is a year-round feat. Now, a recent study that is expected to be presented next week at the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) yearly meeting suggests that women over 75 should continue to get mammograms as breast cancer continues to be a risk past that age.
These findings are considered significant as the issue of breast cancer mammography screening for women in that age group has been a contentious one after 2009 guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) questioned its benefits.
The study
A team of researchers including Dr Stamatia V. Destounis, a radiologist at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, New York assessed the data from 763,256 mammography screenings at the clinic between 2007 and 2017. A total of 3,944 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer from these screenings.
10 per cent (76,885) of the screenings in this dataset belonged to patients aged 75 and over. The cancer rate for this age group was found to be detected at a whopping rate of 8.4 exams per 1000 as the screenings detected 645 malignancies in 616 patients, 82 per cent of which were considered invasive. Dr Destounis says that the rate of cancer found in this age group was disproportionately high as they made up 16 per cent of cancer diagnoses.
The vast majority of patients in this age group – 98 per cent – went on to have surgical treatment for their cancers. The rest of the women did not have surgery as it was considered unsuitable for them due to their advanced age or overall health.
What do these results mean?
Dr Destounis says that the benefits of yearly mammograms for women over 75 outweigh any potential risks and that healthy women in that age group should continue to get them.
Mammograms are considered essential in the breast-cancer detection process because they can pick up potentially concerning breast changes long before patients or doctors can feel them – up to a couple of years prior. And as always, early detection of the disease leads to better outcomes.
The UK based charity, Breast Cancer Care, recommends that women over 70 remain proactive in going to breast screenings and keeping an eye out for any changes in their breasts and says that breast cancer treatments can be just as beneficial for older women as they are for their younger counterparts.
And remember, men – especially older ones – can get breast cancer too. So it’s important to be on the lookout for any changes to your breasts whatever your gender; including hard lumps, nipple discharge, inverted nipples, rashes or dimpling on the skin of the breast. You can find more information on signs to look out for on the links below.
Sources:
1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181121073218.htm
2. https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/about-us/news-personal-stories/breast-cancer-women-over-70
3. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer-in-men/
By Tesneem Ayoub
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