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ROCHESTER, Minnesota — Mayo Clinic is recommending that women continue receiving mammograms beginning at age 40, despite warnings from a federal advisory task force that such screening can be counterproductive and even dangerous.
Last November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force urged women to get mammograms at age 50 instead of 40. The task force said women in their 40s are less likely to have breast cancer but could harm themselves both physically and emotionally through over-treatment.
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However, Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, director of Mayo Clinic’s Breast Clinic, said mammograms are still the best screening tool to reduce breast cancer deaths. Yet women need access to better diagnostic technology and information about the risks and benefits associated with mammograms, she said.
“To address the concerns raised by the USPSTF regarding the false positives associated with screening mammograms, more emphasis needs to be placed on improving accuracy of mammograms, referrals to breast imaging centers where digital mammograms and core needle biopsies are available — and patients need to receive timely and coordinated care to alleviate anxiety,” Dr. Pruthi said in a statement.
Mayo recently licensed technology to Gamma Medica-Ideas Inc., a company that’s developing a diagnostic device that can better detect tumors in women with denser breasts.
