
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 21, 1993                   TAG: 9310210145
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-20   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

MAMMOGRAM POLICIES TO BE RECONSIDERED

A scientific committee of the National Cancer Institute will consider today whether the government should stop urging women in their 40s to have mammograms every year or so.

Instead of recommending the regular X-rays, the committee will consider guidelines that advise women in that age group to discuss the advisability of mammography with their doctors.

The shift in emphasis comes out of a growing - but not unanimous - view among scientists that the annual tests between ages 40 and 50 do not improve a woman's ultimate chances of not dying from the disease.

If eventually approved, the new guidelines would continue to recommend annual mammograms for women 50 to 70.

Breast cancer is the second-worst cancer among American women in two respects: Only skin cancer is more common, and only lung cancer kills more women. This year, an estimated 46,000 will die of the disease.

Current guidelines, established in 1987, recommend that women 40 to 49 years old receive mammography every one to two years and an annual clinical breast examination. For women 50 and older, the government guidelines recommend annual screening with mammography and clinical breast examinations. - Cox News Service

by CNB