The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports that “a Canadian task force recommends” that women in their 40s should not undergo “routine mammograms.”
HealthDay reports, “The new guidelines, replacing those issued in 2001, are for women at average risk of breast cancer only.” They “also recommend longer mammogram screening intervals for women aged 50 to 74 – to once every two or three years.”
HealthDay adds, “The Canadian task force has also dropped recommendations for breast self-exams and clinical exams for women with no symptoms.”
MedPage Today reports, “In the final analysis … the decision to undergo screening mammography should remain with the individual patient and treating physician, who should thoroughly discuss the tradeoff between benefits and harms, as well as patient preferences, the guideline authors wrote in an article published online in CMAJ.”
Meanwhile, “in an accompanying editorial, a Danish physician urged elimination of breast cancer screening altogether.”
Here are some of my past blogs on mammograms: