Researchers Measure Accuracy of Mammograms in 2 Age Groups
From Times staff and wire reports
Women ages 40 to 49 are less likely to have breast tumors detected by mammography screening than women over 50, especially if they have a family history of breast cancer, according to a UC San Francisco study in the July 3 Journal of the American Medical Assn. The study, examining 28,271 women from 1985 to 1992, showed that about 75% of the women age 40 to 49 with tumors had them detected by mammography compared with 93% of women over 50.
The study’s participants all received mammograms and then were given follow-up screenings in succeeding months to determine how accurate the original findings were.
