For example , mammography screening does not seem to create anxiety in women who are given a clear result after a mammogram .
The incidence of breast cancer and mortality increases with age , and the GDG extrapolated that the absolute health benefits are greater in women aged 45 to 49 than those aged 40 to 44 years .
However , for the 45- to 49-year age group , the higher breast cancer incidence and mortality compared with women between the ages of 40 and 44 , as well as observational evidence showing a greater benefit in this age group ( 33 ) , led the GDG to judge that the balance of health effects probably favors screening , although the required re sources for screening likely differ across setting s ( 34 , 35 ) .
Other EtD criteria also were generally in favor of implementing organized mammography screening in this age group .
Despite intensified efforts by the European Council since 2003 , the implementation of organized , population -based mammography screening is not uniform across Europe and depends greatly on the policies in place in different countries , the organization of health care , and available re sources ( 1 ) .
Since the last edition of the European Guidelines on Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis was published in 2006 ( 2 ) , new evidence regarding breast cancer and innovation in guideline methodology prompted the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer ( ECIBC ) to develop new evidence -based recommendations ( in short , the European Breast Guidelines ) .
These guidelines inform women , health professionals , and policymakers about important questions related to organized mammography screening and breast cancer diagnosis , but recommendations may apply in context s in which organized screening programs are not in place .
Women generally consider these undesirable effects acceptable ( low certainty of evidence ) , and a systematic review suggested that women place a relatively low value on the psychosocial and physical effects of false-positive results and overdiagnosis ; however , some studies raised concerns about whether women fully underst and the result ing implication s ( 15 ) .
How Often Should Women Attend an Organized Mammography Screening Program ?
Outcome analysis for women undergoing annual versus biennial screening mammography: a review of 24,211 examinations.
OBJECTIVE Our goal was to determine differences in outcome measures between women undergoing annual versus biennial screening mammography .  MATERIAL S AND METHODS A retrospective review of prospect ively collected data on 24,211 consecutive screening mammography examinations was performed in women aged 40 - 79 years , all of whom had undergone previous normal screening mammography . Annual screening and biennial screening were defined as examinations performed 10 - 14 months and 22 - 26 months , respectively , after previous normal screening mammography . The rates of recall , biopsy , cancer detection , and interval cancer for annual and biennial screening cohorts were calculated , as were tumor size , lymph node status , and stage of invasive cancer . Interval cancer cases were identified by linkage with a regional tumor registry . RESULTS Of the 4306 biennially screened women , 160 were recalled ( 3.7 % ) , 45 were biopsied ( 1.0 % ) , and cancer was detected in 19 ( 0.44 % ) . Of the 19,905 annually screened women , 518 were recalled ( 2.6 % ) , 150 were biopsied ( 0.75 % ) , and cancer was detected in 71 ( 0.36 % ) . Of the 3278 registry-linked biennially screened women , five had interval cancer ( 0.15 % ) ; of the 15,031 registry-linked annually screened women , 10 had interval cancer ( 0.07 % ) . For biennial screening-detected cancer and interval invasive cancer combined , the median tumor size was 15 mm , 24 % had lymph node metastasis , and 29 % were stage 2 or higher . For annual screening-detected cancer , these measures were 11 mm , 14 % positive nodes , and 17 % stage 2 + cancer , respectively . CONCLUSION Annual screening mammography results in lower recall rates than does biennial screening ( p < .0001 ) . Moreover , annual screening results in the detection of smaller tumors that have a more favorable prognosis ( p = .04 )
For example , mammography screening does not seem to create anxiety in women who are given a clear result after a mammogram .
The incidence of breast cancer and mortality increases with age , and the GDG extrapolated that the absolute health benefits are greater in women aged 45 to 49 than those aged 40 to 44 years .
However , for the 45- to 49-year age group , the higher breast cancer incidence and mortality compared with women between the ages of 40 and 44 , as well as observational evidence showing a greater benefit in this age group ( 33 ) , led the GDG to judge that the balance of health effects probably favors screening , although the required re sources for screening likely differ across setting s ( 34 , 35 ) .
Other EtD criteria also were generally in favor of implementing organized mammography screening in this age group .
Despite intensified efforts by the European Council since 2003 , the implementation of organized , population -based mammography screening is not uniform across Europe and depends greatly on the policies in place in different countries , the organization of health care , and available re sources ( 1 ) .
Since the last edition of the European Guidelines on Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis was published in 2006 ( 2 ) , new evidence regarding breast cancer and innovation in guideline methodology prompted the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer ( ECIBC ) to develop new evidence -based recommendations ( in short , the European Breast Guidelines ) .
These guidelines inform women , health professionals , and policymakers about important questions related to organized mammography screening and breast cancer diagnosis , but recommendations may apply in context s in which organized screening programs are not in place .
Women generally consider these undesirable effects acceptable ( low certainty of evidence ) , and a systematic review suggested that women place a relatively low value on the psychosocial and physical effects of false-positive results and overdiagnosis ; however , some studies raised concerns about whether women fully underst and the result ing implication s ( 15 ) .
How Often Should Women Attend an Organized Mammography Screening Program ?