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Mammograms Benefit Women in Their 80s: New Study Findings

The Study: Continued Benefits of Mammography in Octogenarians

For many older women, the question of whether to continue breast cancer screening has⁤ been uncertain. While most guidelines recommend mammograms up to age 74, advice for women 75 and older has been less clear. Now,⁢ a new study from researchers at the UCLA Health jonsson⁢ Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that regular mammograms may still offer notable benefits for women in their 80s.

The study, published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, found ⁤that women in their 80s who get regular ⁤mammograms are more likely ‍to ‍have breast cancer detected early, need less aggressive treatment, and live ⁣longer.

“When cancer is found on screening, it is indeed frequently enough early ‍stage. In postmenopausal women wiht the most common hormone-sensitive breast cancers, we can ofen omit sentinel lymph node biopsy, chemotherapy, and sometimes even radiation. ⁤Screening is especially crucial in this era of de-escalation because early detection allows us to safely reduce the intensity of treatment while still achieving ‍excellent outcomes.”

Dr. Nimmi Kapoor, associate professor of surgery at the david Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior author of the study

The ⁢Growing Importance of Screening Older Adults

The number of older‍ adults in the U.S. has grown rapidly over the past decade, and age is a major risk factor for breast cancer. As a result,determining the most effective way to screen⁤ older women has become increasingly important,the researchers noted. Yet guidance is limited, leaving many women and their doctors uncertain about when to continue or stop routine mammograms. Screening in older women also raises concerns about overdiagnosis, when ⁣cancers are detected that may never cause problems, and the associated ‍costs.

With limited data on the benefits of mammography for women over 80,the researchers set out to compare outcomes between those who continued ‍regular screening and those who did not.

Study Methodology and Findings

The team ⁢analyzed medical records of 174 women aged 80 and older who were diagnosed with breast cancer at⁤ UCLA between 2013⁢ and 2020. Most cancers were estrogen receptor-positive and HER2-negative and were mostly stage 1 or 2. Patients were divided into two groups: Those who had‍ a mammogram within two years before their diagnosis (98 women) and ⁤those who had not (76 women).