Reader reactions to modified American Cancer Society mammography guidelines

OBG Management. 2016 February;28(2):

February 3, 2016|ObGyn

Plus more Letters to the Editor topics

“WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST CHANGE IN MAMMOGRAPHY SCREENING GUIDELINES”JANELLE YATES, SENIOR EDITOR (OCTOBER 2015)

“ACOG PLANS CONSENSUS CONFERENCE ON UNIFORM GUIDELINES FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENING”LUCIA DIVENERE, MA (NOVEMBER 2015)

“ANNUAL SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY BEGINNING AT AGE 40 SAVES THE MOST LIVES”DANIEL B. KOPANS, MD (DECEMBER 2015)

Why is ACOG so late?I am quite dismayed that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), again, is the last kid on the block to accept data on a major recommendation like mammography. (ACOG was late to respond to cervical cancer screening changes.) There are growing data supporting the concept that we have over-done mammography and ignored the warnings that mammograms do not meet usual criteria for a good screening test, especially for those aged younger than 50 years. In the 70s and 80s, Dr. John Bailar of the National Cancer Institute warned of the dangers of radiation in “breast x-rays”.^1,2 We must move forward and develop a more unified approach for this deadly disease.

James Kolter, MD
Paoli, Pennsylvania

References

Bailar JC 3rd. Mammography: a time for caution. JAMA. 1977;237(10):997–998.
Bailar JC 3rd. Mammography before age 50 years? JAMA. 1988;259(10):1548–1549.

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