Also today there is a related story: A study of Swedish women (not those with higher, familial risk) showed mammograms made no difference.

Journal Watch

“In women at high risk for developing breast cancer, the combination of MRI and mammography screening was not substantially better than MRI alone.”

This multi-center study’s goal was to “refine management recommendations for woman at higher risk for breast cancer due to familial risk (EVA trial).”

Expert Comment: William J. Gradishar, MD

(Ed. Note: Dr. Gradisher is Editor-in-Chief of  Oncology and Hematology Journal Watch. He also is Professor of Medicine and Director of Breast Medical Oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.)

…”These findings are provocative nonetheless, and suggest that young women at high risk for breast cancer might consider undergoing screening with MRI alone rather than mammography or a combination of the two modalities. However, mammography should not be abandoned as a primary screening tool in the general population. Until the quality of MRI screening improves universally — and until these findings can be confirmed in other studies involving women with uniformly high risk for disease — MRI should still be used as an adjunct to mammography in women whose cumulative lifetime risk for breast cancer is 20% to 25%, as recommended by American Cancer Society guidelines (CA Cancer J Clin 2007; 57:75).”

Source: Published in Journal Watch Oncology and Hematology March 23, 2010
Citation(s):

Citation: J Clin Oncol 2010 Mar 20; 28:1450.