The benefits of screening mammography need to be balanced against its harms, which include:įalse-positive results. However, no studies to date have shown a benefit from regular screening mammography in women under age 40 or from baseline screening mammograms (mammograms used for comparison) taken before age 40. Randomized clinical trials and other studies show that screening mammography can help reduce deaths from breast cancer among women ages 40 to 74 years at average risk of breast cancer, with the evidence of benefit being strongest for women ages 50 to 69 years ( 1, 2). How are screening and diagnostic mammograms different?Įarly detection of breast cancer with screening mammography means that treatment can be started earlier in the course of the disease, possibly before it has spread. A diagnostic mammogram can also be used to evaluate changes found during a screening mammogram or to view breast tissue when it is difficult to obtain a screening mammogram because of special circumstances, such as the presence of breast implants. Besides a lump, signs of breast cancer can include breast pain, thickening of the skin of the breast, nipple discharge, or a change in breast size or shape however, these signs may also be signs of benign conditions. This type of mammogram is called a diagnostic mammogram. Mammograms can also be used to check for breast cancer after a lump or other sign or symptom of the disease has been found. Screening mammograms can also find microcalcifications (tiny deposits of calcium) that sometimes indicate the presence of breast cancer. The x-ray images often make it possible to detect tumors that cannot be felt. Screening mammograms usually involve two or more x-ray pictures, or images, of each breast. This type of mammogram is called a screening mammogram. Mammograms can be used to check for breast cancer in women who have no signs or symptoms of the disease. A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast.
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