Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women
Authors: Michelle V. Lee, Debbie L. Bennett, Catherine M. Appleton
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters17 September 2019Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk WomenMichelle V. Lee, MD, Debbie L. Bennett, MD, and Catherine M. Appleton, MDMichelle V. Lee, MDMallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (M.V.L., C.M.A.)Search for more papers by this author, Debbie L. Bennett, MDSSM Health St. Louis Breast Imaging, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (D.L.B.)Search for more papers by this author, and Catherine M. Appleton, MDMallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (M.V.L., C.M.A.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0471 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read ACP's guidance statement on screening for breast cancer in average-risk women (1) with interest and concern. The restricted screening regimen endorsed by ACP may result in thousands of additional and unnecessary breast cancer deaths each year (2). Data suggest that the black community will unfortunately disproportionately bear this burden.Racial disparities in breast cancer mortality are well documented. Black women are 39% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women (3). Nonwhite women present with breast cancer at an earlier age than white women, and nearly one third of all cases of breast ...References1. Qaseem A, Lin JS, Mustafa RA, et al; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Screening for breast cancer in average-risk women: a guidance statement from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2019. [PMID: 30959525] doi:10.7326/M18-2147 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Hendrick RE, Helvie MA. United States Preventive Services Task Force screening mammography recommendations: science ignored. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011;196:W112-6. [PMID: 21257850] doi:10.2214/AJR.10.5609 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. DeSantis CE, Ma J, Goding Sauer A, et al. Breast cancer statistics, 2017, racial disparity in mortality by state. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67:439-48. [PMID: 28972651] doi:10.3322/caac.21412 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Stapleton SM, Oseni TO, Bababekov YJ, et al. Race/ethnicity and age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis in the United States. JAMA Surg. 2018;153:594-5. [PMID: 29516087] doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2018.0035 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hunt BR, Whitman S, Hurlbert MS. Increasing Black:white disparities in breast cancer mortality in the 50 largest cities in the United States. Cancer Epidemiol. 2014;38:118-23. [PMID: 24602836] doi:10.1016/j.canep.2013.09.009 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (M.V.L., C.M.A.)SSM Health St. Louis Breast Imaging, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (D.L.B.)Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0471. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoScreening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women: A Guidance Statement From the American College of Physicians Amir Qaseem , Jennifer S. Lin , Reem A. Mustafa , Carrie A. Horwitch , Timothy J. Wilt , and Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women Lars J. Grimm Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women Amanda Lenderink-Carpenter Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women Jennifer S. Lin , Reem A. Mustafa , Timothy J. Wilt , Carrie A. Horwitch , and Amir Qaseem Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women Kelly W. Biggs Metrics 17 September 2019Volume 171, Issue 6Page: 451KeywordsBreast cancerCancer epidemiologyCancer screeningDisclosureMammographyMortality ePublished: 17 September 2019 Issue Published: 17 September 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...