Child cancer survivors miss out on screening

Most young women treated with chest radiation for a childhood cancer do not undergo appropriate mammography screening, say researchers in the US. Their study of 625 women who had received chest radiation for a paediatric cancer found the strongest predictor of mammography use in those aged 25-39 was a physician recommending it. Despite the recommendation for annual screening for women exposed to moderate- to high-dose chest radiation, almost half (47.3 per cent) of cancer survivors aged 25-39 years had never had a mammogram and only 52.6 per cent of the 40-50 age group had regular screening (at least two mammograms within four years).

Oeffinger KC, Ford JS, Moskowitz CS et al. JAMA 2009;301(4):404-14

Originally published in the March 2009 edition of MIMS Oncology & Palliative Care.