Editorial criticizes breast screening guidelines, ACR responds

An editorial criticizing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening guidelines has drawn the ire of the American College of Radiology (ACR).  The editorial, published February 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, stated that the updated USPSTF guidelines issued in 2023 could create more confusion among women considering undergoing breast cancer screening and make way for more harm tied to screening.  “The USPSTF risks abandoning its role in setting the standard for using evidence and sound judgment to make medical decisions,” wrote Russell Harris, MD, a former USPSTF member, in his editorial. “This would be a loss for all of medicine.” The USPSTF in 2023 updated its recommendations by endorsing biennial screening with mammography beginning at age 40 for all women. Previously, the task force recommended that women in their 40s make an individual decision about when to start screening. In doing so, the USPSTF upped its recommendation from a C grade to a B grade for women in their 40s. Harris in his editorial, however, cited randomized controlled trials that influenced the task force’s recommendations in 2002 and 2009 that showed little to no statistically significant reduction in breast cancer mortality in women ages 40 to 49 years. He also wrote that overdiagnosis can be harmful to women. Such harms may include unnecessary biopsy, additional radiation exposure with more imaging, and patient anxiety. Additionally, Harris wrote th...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Subspecialties Associations Breast Imaging Source Type: news