LAUSR

A s the standard tool for breast cancer screening, mammography is recommended by most US guidelines to be started after the age of 40 years, or no later than the age of 50 years, and to be continued to at least the age of 74 years for women with an average risk of breast cancer. Beyond the age of 74 years, recommendations vary, with some guidelines citing insufficient evidence on the benefits and harms of screening in this older population. Insufficient evidence is also cited by most guidelines as the reason to not recommend routine screening for women with dense breasts, in which lesions are more difficult to detect through mammography alone.1 Three recent studies have contributed further understanding to these areas of ambiguity. Two of these studies have reported results for adjunctive tools used with mammography to improve detection, and an epidemiological study has reported the effectiveness of mammography in older women.