Mammograms are considered the gold standard for early detection of breast cancer. They have been controversial, however. Recommendations to change the age of routine mammography from 40 to 50 were met with howls of outrage. Many women and their doctors considered the guidelines irresponsible.
Now a new study of a large breast cancer registry including nearly 170,000 women has found that there are serious flaws in mammogram results. More than half of the women who had an annual mammogram had at least one false positive result over the course of the ten year study span. A substantial number of these underwent an unnecessary biopsy. The authors suggest that switching to every other year for mammogram screening could reduce the number of false positives a woman would have to deal with.
