Apr 19 2008
Screening will help to identify breast cancer
Apr 19: A new study conducted among 860,000 women has revealed that diagnosing women in their early 70s for breast cancer will save their lives. The Dutch research was presented at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Berlin has found that by screening women the death rate decreased by 30 per cent.
Owing to the increasing rate of cancer risk with age the researchers are divided in their opinion on whether to screen women who are aged above 70 or not. Initiatives were on in the UK to raise the upper age limit for routine screening from 70 to 73 by 2012. Screening has a significant role to play in identifying the symptoms of breast cancer.
According to an estimate between the years 1986 and 1997 the average mortality rate of women was 166 per 100,000 women. In 2006 it get reduced to 117 per 100,000 women with almost 30 percent reduction.
The lead of the research team Jacques Fracheboud said: “The fall in the breast cancer mortality rate is a clear indication of the positive effects of screening. We also found that more women aged between 70 and 74 when subjected to further tests were found to be affected by breast cancer. In older women the breast tissue will be less dense and it enables easy identification of the symptoms of breast cancer.”
He further added that there is no need for continues screening beyond 75 years because most of the tumours found at this stage are slow growing and will never create problems.
Meanwhile Dr Alexis Willett, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: “The threat of getting affected by breast cancer is more likely in older woman. That is why we recommend all women above 50 years of age to attend NHS breast screening appointments.”
[…] The research was conducted by the scientists at Patiala University in Punjab state. They tracked a group of farmers for several months. Concerns are being raised for several years about the potential health risks posed by pesticides. This new study has found that the pesticide exposure has altered the DNA of farmers in Punjab making them vulnerable to cancer. […]