A strong case for mammography sooner.A strong case for mammography mammography, diagnostic procedure that uses low-dose X rays to detect abnormalities in the breasts. The early diagnosis of breast cancer made possible by the routine use of mammography for screening women increases a woman's treatment alternatives and improves her sooner The strongest evidence yet that mammography significantly reduces breast cancer deaths in women under 50 comes from a new analysis of a long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. U.S. study, begun in the early 1960s. Kenneth C. Chu and researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., report a 24 percent reduction in death from breast cancer in women aged 40 to 49 who underwent mammography and a physician's breast examination annually for three years. Patients in the control group followed their "usual" pattern of medical care. At that time, physicians rarely used mammography to screen for breast cancer and even breast examinations may not have been periodic, Chu told SCIENCE NEWS. Previous reports from the Health Insurance Plan study of 61,000 women living in the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. area showed a significant reduction in breast cancer deaths for women aged 50 to 64, but not for the younger group. The researchers attribute the new findings in part to longer follow-up of 742 patients for at least 18 years. Dutch and Swedish studies that do not show benefit to younger women from mammography have shorter follow-up periods, the researchers say. They also point out that the Breast Cancer Detection and Demonstration Project--a five-year study by the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, and the National Cancer Institute that ended in 1978 -- which supports the benefits of screening sooner, was not a randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. trial. In the Health Insurance Plan study women were assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. at random to a study or control group. The research team hopes the study, which is described in the Sept. 21 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE, will help settle the debate about screening women under age 50. |
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