Mammography screening for women aged 75 years or more

Evaluation of: Schonberg MA, Breslau ES, McCarthy EP. Targeting of mammography screening according to life expectancy in women aged 75 and older. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 61(3), 388–395 (2013). The evidence on the effectiveness of mammography screening for women aged 75 years or more has been reviewed. As there is no randomized screening trial evidence of benefit, the evidence from trials involving younger women have to be extrapolated. However, the relevant trials were performed before recent advances in breast cancer treatment were available, thus the absolute degree of benefit has to be much less than estimated from the trials.  Recent trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality in the USA are considered. The majority of deaths from breast cancer in women aged 75 years or more are from cases diagnosed at younger ages. It is probable that less than one in 6000 women aged 75 years or more would benefit from mammography screening.

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