American Women Prefer Annual Mammograms

The US Preventive ServicesTask Force (USPSTF) reaffirmed its recommendations to screen women ages 50-74 for breast cancer every two years stating that the harms of annual screening outweighed the benefits.  It also says the decision on frequency of screening should be individualized for women ages 40-49 based on risk.  The USPSTF found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for women 75 or older.

Several professional societies like the American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging advocate annual screening mammography starting at age 40.

A survey of 731 women indicated that 71% of the women who were 59 years old on average said they’d prefer a screening mammogram every year. Only 17% of participants felt having biennial screening would cause less anxiety. Of the patients who reported a prior abnormal mammogram, 13% believe biennial screening would cause less anxiety

The study was presented at the 103th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.