Mammograms Could Be Harmful For Breast Cancer Screening

The backlash over the new guidelines for mammograms is huge.  Reactions include anger and shock.  The new guidelines were released following the findings that mammograms are not effective for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.  At recent Radiological Society of North America 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting (RSNA conference), a doctor presented research finding indicating that the use of mammograms for breast cancer screening could be harmful particularly to high-risk women.

In my Oct 25th blog on mammograms, I discussed such findings published in JAMA last October 21st.  In summary, it said that after 20 years of breast cancer screening, mammograms have been found as not the most effective way detect and prevent early cases of breast cancer, and new approaches should be considered.  This flies in the face of the industry which has a stake in mammography and/or those whose livelihood depends on annual breast cancer screenings for women, whether it is safe and effective or not.

About a week ago, another blow was struck against the use of mammograms for early breast cancer detection.  According to new research presented on November 30th at the RSNA conference, the low doses of radiation associated with annual screening mammography could be placing high-risk women in even more jeopardy of developing breast cancer, particularly if they start screening at a young age or have frequent exposure.  In a meta-analysis of 6 studies, it was found that women with BRCA1 or BCRA2 gene mutations or a family history of breast cancer who were exposed to radiation, either from mammography or chest x-rays, before the age of 20 had a risk for breast cancer that was 2.5 times higher than their counterparts who were not exposed to radiation.

The analysis, in which 9420 high-risk women were examined, also found that 5 or more mammograms increased risk 2.5-fold.  Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide, PhD, from the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, reported these findings.  Dr. Jansen-van der Weide said, overall, exposure to low-dose radiation increased breast cancer risk by a 1.5 times, compared with no exposure.  The mean age of the women in the analysis was 45 years. The cumulative dose of radiation they received ranged from 0.3 to 24 mSv.

“The take-home message here is that high-risk women who are younger should be careful about mammography screening,” Dr. Jansen-van der Weide told Medscape Radiology. “Because they are young, they also have dense breasts, which poses a problem with mammography. They should explore alternative breast cancer screening methods.”

In my opinion, early breast cancer detection is very important for both anti-aging health and overall health of women, but mammograms are not the way to do it.  As I have written in my blog, such as this blog on early breast cancer detection, and in my newsletter archives, including the Jan 2007 newsletter that includes breast cancer news, breast cancer screening and prevention could be greatly improved using alternative screening methods with a Functional Medicine approach.  For two simple tips to decrease breast cancer risk by 50 to 67% read this article.

Copyright © 2009 Douglas Husbands, DC, CCN. All rights reserved.

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