Women at Risk for Breast Cancer Can Benefit From Frequent Mammograms

The National Health Service is comprised of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the countries of the United Kingdom. They recently conducted the largest breast cancer study in the UK and seek to help those with a higher risk.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme study consisted of over 50,000 women participants and found that one-third of all women are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer and could benefit from more mammogram screenings. The study was open to women between the ages of 47 and 73.

The risk of developing breast cancer for these women was found to be 2.4% for those aged 47 up to 3.5% to those aged 70. Based on a questionnaire, the researchers found that 1.4% of women are at a high risk and 8.6% are at a moderately increased risk for breast cancer.

Each year in the UK, 48,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, with 80% of those over the age of 50. The most common symptom reveals a lump or thickening in the breast tissue, but there are many other symptoms and causes. 5.2% of the women in the study possessed dense breast tissue, which revealed that they were more likely to develop breast cancer within the next ten years.

Professor Gareth Evans of the University of Manchester presented the findings of the Predicting Risk of Breast Cancer at Screening study (PROCAS) today at the 9^th European Breast Cancer Conference. 

"Our results suggest that three-yearly screening is very effective for around 70% of the female population, but that those women who have a higher than average risk of developing breast cancer probably require more frequent screening, particularly as more advanced cancers were detected in these women," he told the conference in a news release.

Dr. Hilary Dobson is the chair of the 9^th European Breast Cancer Conference and was pleased with the study's results as she believes that more risk factors can be determined if the women in question receive more frequent screenings.

The study was funding by the National Institute for Health Research's Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme, and you can read more about it here.