Mammography Most Effective One Year After Breast Cancer Treatment

The recipients of breast cancer therapy may not require a follow-up mammogram until 12 months after radiation, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Diego, set out to determine whether the recommended timeframe for a post-treatment mammogram offers any benefit to patients.

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It is significant to note here that current American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend follow-up mammograms at between six and 12 months after radiation.

During the study, the researchers looked at 408 patients who were treated with breast-conserving therapy and radiation between 1995 and 2005, and who had follow-up mammograms at UCLA within one year after completing radiation.

The median interval between radiation and the initial mammogram was 3.1 months.

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The researchers found that only 10 patients had suspicious findings on their mammograms, and that only two of them were found to have recurrent cancer.

Both cases were non-invasive ductal carcinomas, they revealed.

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Considering that only 0.49 recurrences were detected per 100 mammograms, and that only non-invasive ductal carcinoma was found, the researchers came to the conclusion that mammograms should not be performed until at least one year after radiation.

The cost of a mammogram is about 115 dollars, and many women can experience moderate to severe pain during the procedure and high levels of anxiety during a needle biopsy.

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The researchers say that not performing mammograms for one year after the treatment can help avoid medical and psychological costs associated with mammography.

“Omitting the initial post-radiotherapy examination may improve the psychological well-being of patients, especially for women who have already been shown to have breast cancer,” said Dr. Kevin Lin, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Advanced Oncology Center in West Covina, California.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics.

Source-ANI
LIN