Although, the US Preventative Services Task Force recommends breast cancer [abnormal cells that divide without control, which can invade nearby tissues or spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. ] screenings for women every other year in the later stages of their lives, a new study claims frequent mammograms that begin at a younger age can save thousands of lives.

According to researchers, women who get screened for malignancy every year after the age of 40 cut their risk of dying of breast cancer [abnormal cells that divide without control, which can invade nearby tissues or spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. ] by 71 percent as opposed to those who undergo mammograms less frequently after the age of 50 years.

According to experts, the fact that young women too can get breast cancer is underestimated. As a result of earlier mammograms, younger women receive more treatment options which in turn leads to better chances of survival.

Co-author of the research, Mark Helvie, director of breast imaging at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center stated, "Task force guidelines have created confusion among women, leading some to forego mammography altogether.

"Mammography is one of the few screening tools that has been proven to save lives and our analysis shows that for maximum survival, annual screening beginning at 40 is best. This data gives women more information to make an informed choice about the screening schedule that's best for them."

Comparison of guidelines
For the purpose of the study, the researchers compared the guidelines issued by the task force on mammography for screening every other year in women 50-74 with those of the American Cancer Society that recommending an annual screening exam in women 40-84.

The experts used a total of six model scenarios of screening mammography designed by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network.

It was noted that if women opt for breast cancer detection at age 40, they cut the risk of death from malignant tumors by 40 percent.

In contrast, when mammography begins at 50 and occurs every other year, breast cancer deaths go down by 23 percent. The difference translates into 71 percent more lives saved with annual screening starting at 40.

The investigators noted that on average women aged 40-49 years who go for an annual ritual of cancer detection will have a false-positive mammogram once in every 10 years.

R. Edward Hendrick, Ph.D., clinical professor of radiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, lead investigator stated, "The task force overemphasized potential harms of screening mammography, while ignoring the proven statistically significant benefit of annual screening mammography starting at age 40.

"In addition, the panel ignored more recent data from screening programs in Sweden and Canada showing that 40 percent of breast cancer deaths are averted in women who get regular screening mammography.

"Our modeling results agree completely with these screening program results in terms of the large number of women lives saved by regular screening mammography."

The study will be published in the February issue of the 'American Journal of Roentgenology.'

The benefits of mammogram
According to experts, women should undergo a clinical breast exam not only to save their life, but also to avert a mastectomy and avoid other radical cancer treatments.

The aim of cancer screening is to detect the malignancy before it starts to cause symptoms.

The tumors found in the advanced stage are larger and are more likely to have already spread. On the other hand, breast cancers found during mammography are generally smaller and still confined to the breast.

Finding the cancer at the initial stage means a better prognosis [a prediction of the course of the disease] . Smaller tumors can be effectively treated with a lumpectomy [a surgical procedure in which only the tumor and a small area of surrounding tissue are removed] , a type of breast conserving therapy which removes the cancerous lump while sparing the rest of the breast.