Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide of the University Medical Center in Groningen, the Netherlands, said women who are at high risk for breast cancer need to begin screening at a younger age, because they often develop cancer earlier than women at average risk.
However, at-risk women may want to consider alternative screening methods to mammography because the benefit of early tumor detection in this group may be offset by the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer.
"For women at high risk for breast cancer, screening is very important, but a careful approach should be taken when considering mammography for screening young women, particularly under age 30," Jansen-van der Weide told the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago. "Further, repeated exposure to low-dose radiation should be avoided."
Out of 47 studies, six were chosen for the analysis. Four studies looked at the effect of exposure to low-dose radiation among breast cancer gene mutation carriers, and two studies researched the effect of radiation on women with a family history of breast cancer.
Among all high-risk women, the average increased risk of breast cancer due to low-dose radiation exposure was 1.5 times greater than that of high-risk women not exposed to low-dose radiation. High-risk women exposed five or more times were 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women not exposed to low-dose radiation, the study said.
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