Annual mammograms are recommended indefinitely for breast cancer survivors in many countries, but a large British study shows less frequent screening is just as effective.
The purpose of annual screening is to check if the cancer has returned. All of these tests cause anxiety for patients and cost money.
In Canada, it is recommended to have a mammogram every two to three years.
Until now, there was no hard data to determine when women could opt out of annual mammograms, said Janet Dunn of the University of Warwick, who led the body-funded study. Research Institute of the United Kingdom National Health Service.
The study showed that less frequent mammograms are just as effective as an annual program for breast cancer survivors aged 50 and older.
The study’s findings were discussed Friday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The unpublished study has not yet undergone a full peer review.
Similar results
Researchers followed more than 5,200 women. The participants were aged 50 and over and had undergone successful breast cancer surgery, primarily a lumpectomy.
After three years of annual screening, half of them were randomly assigned to annual mammograms and the other half to less frequent mammograms.
The two groups achieved remarkably similar results. Six years later, 95% of both groups were still cancer-free. The breast cancer survival rate was 98% in both groups.
“This is a revealing study,” responded the DD Laura Esserman, a breast cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the new study but is leading research into a personalized approach to screening.
“I think people will be very surprised,” she added.
The new study is “very strong,” but more research will be needed to change U.S. guidelines, according to Corinne Leach of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. She led the development of a 2015 US guideline that calls for unlimited annual screening for these types of patients.
A single study is generally not enough to change the guidelines. This study encourages other researchers to continue their work in this area. This is what could lead to change.
Corinne Leach
In the new study, most women in both groups adhered to their assigned screening schedule. Some women in the annual group missed screenings and some women in the less frequent group were screened earlier than expected.
When researchers analyzed the results based on what the women actually did, the conclusions remained the same.
Survivors “can breathe easily” three years after surgery by returning to a less frequent mammogram schedule, Ms.me Dunn. These findings are likely to change practice in the UK and “will have an influence globally”, she said.
What do we mean by “less frequent”? In the study, it depended on the type of surgery.
In the less frequent screening group, women who had a mastectomy had a mammogram every three years. Those who had a lumpectomy, also called breast conservation surgery, had a mammogram every two years.
The findings do not apply to young breast cancer survivors, who were excluded from the study and who tend to have more aggressive cancers. Additionally, women who have both breasts removed do not need mammograms.
“It is high time to adopt a more personalized approach to screening, not only for women who have never had breast cancer, but also for those who have had it,” said Ms.me Esserman.