Screening mammography in women 40 to 49 years of age

The take home message is that we are recommending that physicians should periodically assess individual woman's risk of developing breast cancer and that screening mammography decisions be made on the basis of a conversation between women and their clinicians,. This conversation should address the woman's risk of breast cancer, her concerns and preferences about breast cancer and screening, and the benefits and harms of screening mammography. We want women to be fully informed about the benefits and risks from screening mammography, and to have the opportunity to participate in the decision to the extent they desire to. If a woman decides that the benefits outweigh the risks, we fully support her decision. If a woman decides that she wants to defer mammography, we recommend that she and her clinician re-address this decision every 1 to 2 years

Bibliographic reference:

Qaseem A et al.: "Screening mammography for women 40 to 49 years of age: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians", Ann Intern Med. 2007 Apr 3;146(7):511-5

Amir Qaseem

Department of Clinical Programs and Quality of Care, American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA, USA