Women with a history of breast cancer in a mother, sister, or daughter are at higher risk for breast cancer than women without such a history. Many doctors advise women with a family history of breast cancer to begin mammography during their 30s and 40s, but the benefit of that practice is unknown. It is also not known whether mammograms have the same sensitivity in women with and without a family history of breast cancer.
Sensitivity means how good the test is at detecting cancer when cancer is really there.
To find out if mammograms have the same sensitivity in women with and women without a family history of breast cancer. 389,533 women who had screening mammograms between April 1985 and November 1997. Information on each study woman, including age, family history, and mammogram results, was taken from seven mammography registries in the United States. Information on breast cancer that was detected after mammography came from tumor registries. For women in both groups, the sensitivity of mammograms increased as women became older.