Massachusetts General Hospital | Imaging

OB/GYN group urges more frequent mammograms

21/Jul/2011

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists previously recommended mammograms every other year for women in their 40s, but the group - whose members often are the only doctors younger women routinely see - now believes annual testing will save more lives by catching cancers sooner.

"The threshold of age 50 is totally arbitrary," said Dr. Daniel Kopans, a Massachusetts General Hospital radiologist who has published numerous research papers on mammography. "The randomized clinical trials all start at age 40, not 50, and show a mortality benefit of at least 15 percent and as high as 30 percent."

Source: Boston Globe