The Power of A

On Monday, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced new guidelines for women and their doctors in screening for breast cancer based on new research in the field of cancer prevention.  The announcement was met with surprise, and immediately women’s health associations acted to provide the best advice and standards for breast cancer prevention.

The prior standard for women’s breast health was that all women aged 40-49 should be screened every one to two years for breast cancer and all women over age fifty should be examined annually.  Women were also encouraged to do self-examinations to screen for potential physical signs of breast cancer.  The new guidelines, however, discourage women from doing self-examinations and suggest biennial screenings for women over fifty.  Women under age fifty would not be encouraged to undergo screenings unless they have a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors.  The USPSTF cited recent studies that showed women under 50 had a higher risk of being adversely affected by the screening radiation than missing a cancer diagnosis, and that self-exams were ineffective in detecting breast cancer.

Immediately some health associations used their members’ expertise to release their own knowledgeable opinions on the issue.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the nation’s largest association of women’s health providers, issued a document entitled “Interpreting the USPSTF Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations for the General Population.”  The organization recommends that its members and fellows continue to follow the old recommendations, as the new standards are still being evaluated and the USPSTF guidelines are rated as such that it could endanger women’s insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings.  ACOG did note however that it would keep its membership apprised of any changes to their own standard in light of new or confirmed research.

The American College of Radiology (ACR), the association for radiologists and radiological staff, also released a statement expressing concern over the new guidelines.  The ACR notes that “[w]ith the onset of mammography screening, the death rate from advanced breast cancer, that had been unchanged for the preceding 50 years, has decreased by 30 percent since 1990.”  ACR’s major concern is that the reduction in breast cancer screenings in women will allow cancers that had been diagnosed previously to go undiagnosed, and drive up the cost of treatment as well as the mortality rate.

Organizations including the American Cancer Society and the American Association of Family Physicians have also weighed in on this topic.

Do you or your organization think physicians and women should follow the new USPSTF guidelines on breast cancer screenings?

Quick Hits

Senate Democrats will hold a closed-door review of the Senate health care overhaul bill, which will be released today.  ASAE will have an overview of the bill on this site as soon as possible following the release… The bill is expected to include the public option with a state opt-out, a 40% excise tax on “Cadillac” insurance plans but with a higher threshold, and an expansion of the Medicare payroll tax… Both chambers are looking at ways to quickly pass a merged House-Senate bill… Small employers face major budget cuts in this economy, and the first thing cut often is health insurance… The Congressional Research Service issued a report on the consequences of new tax policies on the nonprofit sector and how the federal government can encourage a healthy nonprofit community.