American Cancer Society Response to National Cancer Institute Recommendation on Screening Mammography and President Clinton's Pledge to Support New Guidelines

American Cancer Society
Friday, 28 March 1997

Earlier this week the American Cancer Society announced its new guideline for screening mammography, urging women to begin annual mammography screening at age 40, instead of every year or two as it had previously recommended (see March 23 Newsstand story).

Today (March 27) the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that it accepts the recommendations of the National Cancer Advisory Board on screening mammography, and as a result will recommend that women in their 40s should be screened every one to two years with mammography; women aged 50 and older should be screened every one to two years; and women who are at higher than average risk of breast cancer should seek expert medical advice about whether they should begin screening before age 40 and the frequency of screening.

President Clinton today issued a statement applauding the new consensus on breast cancer screening guidelines for women in their 40s, and pledged to support efforts calling for coverage of annual mammography for women 40 and older by Medicare and insurance plans covering government employees.

Following are two statements on the issue of breast cancer screening for women in their 40s. The first is a joint statement from the American Cancer Society and the NCI on breast cancer screening for women in their 40s. The second is an American Cancer Society response to President Clinton's announcement.

Joint Statement by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society on Breast Cancer Screening for Women in their 40s.

The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society agree that mammography screening of women in their 40s is beneficial and supportable with the current evidence.

Both organizations recognize the importance of basing their guidance on currently available scientific evidence that shows a benefit of screening with mammography for women in their 40s. The NCI and the ACS will work together to provide clear guidance to women concerning the risk of developing breast cancer and the value and limitations of screening mammography.

Risk factors vary for each person. Women and their physicians need clear and understandable information that explains what is known about the risk of developing the disease. They also need to know that incidence of breast cancer rises with increasing age.

The ACS and the NCI will develop educational tools to enable a woman to understand her own risk for developing the disease, as well as the benefits and limitations of mammography for finding breast cancer early. As in older women, screening women in their 40s provides the opportunity to find breast cancer early, when less aggressive treatments may be more feasible and more likely to provide long-term freedom from this disease.

Both the NCI and the ACS are committed to a goal of providing the best possible guidance to women of all ages.

President Clinton Applauds New Consensus On Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines for Women in their 40s, Calls For Insurance Reimbursement

Encouraged by the American Cancer Society's (ACS) recent announcement of new breast cancer guidelines recommending annual mammograms for women in their 40s, and the National

Cancer Institute's (NCI) release today of a similar recommendation to women, President Clinton today pledged to send and support legislation to congress calling for coverage of annual mammography for women 40 and older by Medicare and insurance plans covering government employees. He urged private insurers to adopt the same policy. He further called for a nationwide effort to expand access to mammography and for actions to increase women' s awareness of the importance of regular breast exams -- which is also an established American Cancer Society goal.

The President expressed appreciation and support for the clear and consistent advice to women now coming from the nation's top two cancer organizations. The ACS and the NCI now agree with the importance of basing their guidance on currently available scientific evidence that shows a benefit of screening with mammography for women in their 40s. NCI and the ACS intend now to work together to provide clear guidance to women about breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society applauds President Clinton's quick and decisive action to put this new consensus to work immediately to save lives from breast cancer. The President's action today is the most recent among many others demonstrating this administration's commitment to the fight against breast cancer.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org