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Small Proportion of Advanced Breast Cancers Due to Biennial Versus Annual Mammogram

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 12, 2023.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Dec. 12, 2023 -- Among routinely screened women, only a small proportion of advanced breast cancers is attributed to biennial versus annual screening, according to a study published online Dec. 7 in JAMA Oncology.

Karla Kerlikowske, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined the population attributable risk proportions (PARPs) for advanced-stage breast cancer associated with clinical risk factors among routinely screened women aged 40 to 74 years. A total of 904,615 women underwent 3,331,740 annual or biennial screening mammograms associated with 1,815 advanced breast cancers diagnosed within two years of screening.

The researchers found that body mass index PARPs were larger for postmenopausal versus premenopausal women (30 versus 22 percent) and were highest among postmenopausal Black and Hispanic/Latinx women and premenopausal Black women (38.6, 31.8, and 30.3 percent, respectively), with the highest overall prevalence of overweight/obesity in premenopausal Black women and postmenopausal Black and Hispanic/Latinx women (84.4, 85.1, and 72.4 percent, respectively). Premenopausal versus postmenopausal women had larger breast density PARPs (37 versus 24 percent), which were highest for premenopausal Asian or Pacific Islander and White women (46.6 and 39.8 percent), who had a high prevalence of dense breasts (62 to 79 percent). For family history of breast cancer, history of breast biopsy, and screening interval, PARPs were small for premenopausal and postmenopausal women (5 to 8, 7 to 12, and 2.1 to 2.3 percent, respectively).

"Mammography is not sufficient to exclude advanced breast cancer diagnoses," the authors write. "Primary prevention is also needed and should focus on interventions to assist patients with overweight/obesity to attain normal weight to reduce their risk of poor-prognosis tumors."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted December 2023

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