Penn radiologist Emily Conant, MD comments on US Preventitive Services breast cancer screening guidelines

US Preventive Services Task Force Releases New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
A government appointed expert panel – the US Preventive Services Task Force – released new breast cancer screening guidelines in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The Task Force, whose new recommendations call for a huge departure from the current guidelines, says that some screening protocols don’t outweigh the cost, anxiety and unnecessary medical care that go along with them.  In the new guidelines, the Task Force now recommends against routine mammography screening for average-risk women in their 40s; that women between the ages of 50 and 74 should have mammogram screenings every two years instead of every year; and that screenings are not recommended for women over age 74.

Emily Conant, MD, Professor of Radiology and chief of Breast Imaging, was interviewed for WHYY FM and WHYY.org discussing her unwillingness to scale back on breast cancer screening recommendations. “We know that screening has an impact. It decreases breast cancer deaths. I think if you look at it from an individual woman's stand point, we all would like to be the one who, if we do have to get cancer, were diagnosed early where we have the greatest options,” said Dr. Conant.

To learn about the Abramson Cancer Center's Rena Rowan Breast Center click here.

American Cancer Society Responds to Changes to USPSTF Mammography Guidelines... click here