Task Force releases new mammography guideline - Specialty Assemblies

AORN Journal, July, 2002

The US Preventive Services Task Force has released an updated recommendation that advises women ages 40 and older to have a mammogram every one to two years, according to a Feb 21, 2002, news release from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Two earlier recommendations from the task force, published in 1989 and 1996, advocated mammography for women older than 50 years of age.

Although clinical breast examination and breast self-examination can detect some cancers, there is insufficient data to determine whether these methods alone reduce the number of breast cancer deaths. The strongest evidence oft he benefit of mammography to reduce breast cancer mortality is among women ages 50 to 69, according to the release.

An estimated 192,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, and 40,600 women died from the disease, which is the most common cancer among US women. Risk factors include age, family history, a previous diagnosis of breast cancer, or a previous breast biopsy showing atypical hyperplasia (ie, an irregular pattern of cell growth). Women should discuss their individual risk factors with their physician to determine when and how often to have a mammogram. The breast cancer screening recommendation and materials for patients and health care personnel are available by calling the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) information clearinghouse at (800) 358-9295 or visiting AHRQ's web site at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/breastcancer.> HHS Affirms Value of Mammography for Detecting Breast Cancer (news release, Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Feb 21, 2002) http://www. .hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20020221.html accessed 21 Feb 2002).