The American Cancer Society believes all women over 40 should have an annual mammogram to detect breast cancer. But, new information suggests having a mammogram is not enough. More than 30 million mammograms are performed each year, with more than 500,000 ultimately leading to biopsies because of ambiguous findings. Most of the biopsies prove non-cancerous.
More accurate methods continue to be tested.
Further, a debate continues that started in 1987 that mammograms are not effective in detecting cancer in women under age 50 because of denser tissue. Digital mammograms are being tested in eight sites around the world. The technology is being developed and tested by a group of 21 institutions and four corporations in the United States, Canada, and Europe. CEA is a carcinoembryonic antigen present in certain cancers. Supplemental testing began in June 1997.