FDA Proposes Changes To Mammography Standards For First Time In Over 20 Years

(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration announced proposed changes to mammography standards Wednesday. These are the first changes to the regulation of mammography screening in more than 20 years, aimed at improving quality and modernizing breast cancer screening, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said. The key changes include providing patients with information about breast density, in the form of a letter, with screening results. Mammograms of dense breasts are known to be more difficult to read and interpret. “The dense tissue can obscure signs of breast cancer and lower the sensitivity of the image,” according to the FDA. Dense breasts are also known to be a risk factor for breast cancer. More than half of women over age 40 have dense breasts, according to the FDA. “The FDA is proposing specific language that would explain how breast density can influence the accuracy of mammography and would recommend patients with dense breasts talk to their health care provider about high breast density and how it relates to breast cancer risk and their individual situation.” This is one way the proposed changes try to improve communication for patients. Furthering this and to improve communication with providers, the agency has also proposed expanding the categories used to classify mammography findings, currently labeled as “negative,” “benign,” “probably benign,” “suspicious,” “highly suggestiv...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News CNN Mammograms Source Type: news