Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk Women
Authors: Kelly W. Biggs
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters17 September 2019Screening for Breast Cancer in Average-Risk WomenKelly W. Biggs, MDKelly W. Biggs, MDTyrone Hospital, Tyrone, Pennsylvania (K.W.B.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0470 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The American College of Physicians (ACP) guidance statement on screening for breast cancer in average-risk women (1) concludes that “the potential harms of screening for breast cancer with mammography before age 50 years outweigh the benefits in most women.” Among the chief harms of screening that ACP cites are “distress, anxiety, and worry.” Women should know that these “harms” must be measured against evidence accrued over decades that proves that mammography saves lives in women aged 40 to 49 years. Randomized controlled trials show a reduction in breast cancer deaths for women in this age group who ...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;1:1. [PMID: 30959525] doi:10.7326/M18-2147 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Hendrick RE, Smith RA, Rutledge JH, et al. Benefit of screening mammography in women aged 40-49: a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1997:87-92. [PMID: 9709282] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Coldman A, Phillips N, Wilson C, et al. Pan-Canadian study of mammography screening and mortality from breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2014;106. [PMID: 25274578] doi:10.1093/jnci/dju261 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Webb ML, Cady B, Michaelson JS, et al. A failure analysis of invasive breast cancer: most deaths from disease occur in women not regularly screened. Cancer. 2014;120:2839-46. [PMID: 24018987] doi:10.1002/cncr.28199 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Tyrone Hospital, Tyrone, Pennsylvania (K.W.B.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0470. 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 Michelle V. Lee , Debbie L. Bennett , and Catherine M. Appleton 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 Metrics 17 September 2019Volume 171, Issue 6Page: 449-450KeywordsAge groupsAnxietyBreast cancerBreast cancer screeningCancer screeningConflicts of interestDisclosureMammographyObservational studies ePublished: 17 September 2019 Issue Published: 17 September 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...