Research: Mammograms not always best at identifying breast cancer
Oct 22, 2012, 3:12 PM | Updated: 8:10 pm
A mammogram for detecting breast cancer has been the gold standard in the United States.
Researchers at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance however, have found that for younger women with symptoms, an ultrasound is better at detecting breast cancer.
“For that population of women under forty, we found that ultrasound is the best tool for further evaluation,” explains Dr. Connie Lehman with the University of Washington.
In 1,200 cases examined, ultrasounds found 22 cancers while mammograms found 14 cancers.
Lehman cautions that most lumps in women younger than 40 are not cancerous and points out that mammography is still the best cancer screening tool for women older than 40.
“When there is a cancer there, in the unlikely event that it is a cancer, ultrasound is a fantastic tool in identifying the cancer and guiding the most appropriate therapy,” says Lehman.
