A new study says that annual mammograms combined with MRIs and ultrasounds substantially increase detection of breast cancer in women. University of Pittsburgh scientists examined the data from a trial completed by the American College of Radiology Imaging. The trail included 2,600women in a high risk for breast cancer category. To be listed among the high risk, the women either had a family history of the disease or dense breast tissue.
Fifty-three percent of cancers that were detected in the group were found by mammograms. Thirty-three other cases were detected by the use of an ultrasound. Nine more were uncovered by MRIs that had not been detected by either mammograms or ultrasounds.
“Cancers are usually more advance in women at high risk due to dense tissue in their breasts,” said the principal investigator Dr. Wendie Berg. She concluded, “Combining mammography and ultrasound is an effective way of detecting cancers.”
Guidelines currently say women above 50 should have a mammogram every 24 months, but those same guidelines clash with American College of Obstetrics guidelines that recommend annual mammograms for women starting when they reach 40.
Some say screenings are causing over diagnoses nevertheless, doctors say that there is a need for supplemental screening for women in the high-risk category.
