According to a Nov. 19 Medscape article, the new guidelines for mammography have been found to be objectionable by the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology (ACR), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), among others.
Shawn Farley, the ACR's director of public affairs, is quoted in the article as follows:
""If the USTSF recommendations are adopted as policy — particularly if Medicare and private insurers try to use them as an excuse to cut cost — many women will die unnecessarily from breast cancer," Mr. Farley said. "The treatment costs associated with the disease may rise because cancers would be found at a more advanced stage. For those women diagnosed at a later stage, they may experience more invasive techniques to remove the cancers because the disease is more advanced." (My italics)
Also cited is data from two studies that "have shown that breast cancer mortality decreased by nearly 2% per year during the 1990s, which was largely attributed to the benefits of screening. For women younger than 50 years, the decline was more than 3% per year. Since mortality rates peaked in 1989, a woman's risk of dying of breast cancer has decreased by 29%."
Worth noting is evidence that current guidelines detect tumors at a smaller size, meaning an earlier and more easily treated stage of disease, and that 17% of breast cancer deaths in 2006 were among women who were diagnosed between the ages of 40 and 49 years. (American Cancer Society data.)
It seems that the bottom line is that early detection offers the best chance for a cure, and mammography is essential in this detection.
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My thinking is that good clinicians are going to stay with the current (non-revised) screening guidelines. Let us just hope that our mostly male legislators and insurance CEOs have women that they are very fond of, and will work to protect this group of mostly female victims.
I haven't head a word about increasing the age limit for PSA testing (Prostate Stimulating Antigen), how about anyone else? And you won't, because that is an exclusively male issue!
