Friday, November 20th, 2009

New Mammography Guidelines

A mammogram. A cancerous region is indicated by the white arrow. Courtesy Dr. Dwight Kaufman. National Cancer Institute.

New guidelines published this week by a government advisory panel suggest that women delay the start of routine mammograms until they're 50 years old. The recommendation is controversial, pitting the benefits of early detection versus the risks of overtreatment. Influential health organizations, including the American Cancer Society, have recommended against any change to the current screening standard, which includes regular mammograms for women over 40 years of age. We'll talk about the change in guidelines.

Guests

David Dershaw
Director, Breast Imaging
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York

Karla Kerlikowske
Professor, Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California

Related Links

• USPSTF: Screening for Breast Cancer
• American Cancer Society Responds to Changes to USPSTF Mammography Guidelines
• Cancer.gov: breast cancer

Segment produced by:Christopher Intagliata

Friday, November 20th, 2009

• Tropical Medicine Update
• Living and Working In Space
• Chemistry And Personal Solar Power
• New Mammography Guidelines
• Smallpox
• Big Bang Theory

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