Mammograms may boost breast cancer risk for high-risk women
Mammograms may boost breast cancer risk for high-risk women
13:46, December 02, 2009 
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High-risk women may take more risks of coming down with breast cancer for receiving mammograms, a study read at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago said as quoted by media Wednesday.
Researchers analyzed six previously published studies, four examining the effect of low-dose radiation exposure from mammography among women with the genetic mutation boosting breast cancer risk and two looking at the effect of radiation from screening in women with a family history of breast cancer.
"Women who were exposed before the age of 20 had a 2.5 times increased risk of breast cancer." said Martine Jansen-van der Weide, an epidemiologist and researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands.
No information was available from the study about the time period, said Jansen-van der Weide. The study did control for different factors that affect breast cancer risk, such as age, breast-feeding and age at first menstruation.
The study is important, as it provides the "first direct piece of evidence on whether high-risk women have an increased risk due to radiation exposure," said Edward Hendrick, a member of the American College of Radiology Commission, a medical physicist and clinical professor at the University of Colorado at Denver.
In the United States, women under 30 don't routinely get mammograms, he said. It's known that young women are more radiation-sensitive.
Young women who are deemed high-risk can, if they choose, turn to an MRI breast exam instead, he said. MRIs use magnetic or radio waves, not radiation.
"Screening is very important," Jansen-van der Weide said. "However, for young, high-risk women, a careful approach is advised when considering mammography for screening."
Source: Xinhuanet/Agencies
Researchers analyzed six previously published studies, four examining the effect of low-dose radiation exposure from mammography among women with the genetic mutation boosting breast cancer risk and two looking at the effect of radiation from screening in women with a family history of breast cancer.
"Women who were exposed before the age of 20 had a 2.5 times increased risk of breast cancer." said Martine Jansen-van der Weide, an epidemiologist and researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands.
No information was available from the study about the time period, said Jansen-van der Weide. The study did control for different factors that affect breast cancer risk, such as age, breast-feeding and age at first menstruation.
The study is important, as it provides the "first direct piece of evidence on whether high-risk women have an increased risk due to radiation exposure," said Edward Hendrick, a member of the American College of Radiology Commission, a medical physicist and clinical professor at the University of Colorado at Denver.
In the United States, women under 30 don't routinely get mammograms, he said. It's known that young women are more radiation-sensitive.
Young women who are deemed high-risk can, if they choose, turn to an MRI breast exam instead, he said. MRIs use magnetic or radio waves, not radiation.
"Screening is very important," Jansen-van der Weide said. "However, for young, high-risk women, a careful approach is advised when considering mammography for screening."
Source: Xinhuanet/Agencies
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