Women aged 40 to 49 with and without family history have similar disease, lymph node mets rates
TUESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- For women aged 40 to 49 years, having a family history of breast cancer (FHBC) does not impact the rate of invasive, noninvasive, or lymph node metastatic breast cancer, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, held from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 in Chicago.
Stamatia V. Destounis, M.D., from Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, N.Y., and colleagues evaluated the impact of family history on the rates of invasive disease in patients with breast cancer aged 40 to 49 years. A total 1,071 patients with 1,116 cancers were identified, of which 373 patients presented for screening. A total of 39 percent had a FHBC, and 61 percent did not (NFHBC).
The investigators found that the types of lesions (mass, calcification, architectural distortion, asymmetry) detected in the NFHBC and FHBC groups were significantly different. Invasive breast cancer was diagnosed in 64.0 percent of patients in the NFHBC group versus 63.2 percent in the FHBC group, and noninvasive disease was found in 36.0 and 36.8 percent, respectively (P = 0.8695). The metastatic lymph node rate was 29.4 percent in NFHBC patients versus 31.3 percent in the FHBC patients (P = 0.7026).
"We believe this study demonstrates the importance of mammography screening for women in this age group, which is in opposition to the recommendations issued by the [U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]," Destounis said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the medical imaging industry.
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