Dear Women's Imaging Insider,
It's been almost four years since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its recommendations on screening mammography, and researchers continue to investigate their effects. Their findings suggest that repercussions of the guidelines are still being felt.
In this edition of the Insider, we're highlighting a study from the University of Vermont, where researchers found a decline in screening mammography that coincided with the release of the guidelines, after years of rising mammography rates in the state.
So what? Well, because Vermont's rates are similar to those of other states, the phenomenon may have occurred across the U.S. -- and how it is affecting women is worth tracking, according to lead author Brian Sprague, PhD. Click here to read more.
After you've finished our Insider Exclusive, check out what else is going on in the Women's Imaging Digital Community:
- Find out why older women living in the poorest areas of Appalachia fail to get regular breast cancer screening and have a higher incidence of late-stage breast cancer.
- Sort fact from fiction in mammography malpractice suits.
- Learn how breast tomosynthesis could help address the problem of overdiagnosis in screening mammography.
- Discover a new resource developed by California breast imagers that helps radiologists and referring physicians navigate the challenges posed by breast density notification laws.
- Read why breast MRI with mammography or ultrasound can help avoid biopsies of suspicious lesions that would otherwise turn out to be false positives.
As always, if you have a comment, report, or article idea to share about any aspect of women's imaging, I invite you to contact me.
