Efficacy of mammography for detecting early breast cancer in women under 50.

Screening mammography (MMG) for women aged 50 years and older has been widely accepted all over the world. However, the efficacy of screening mammography for women aged under 50 years has not been established. We compared mammographic findings of the patients under age 50 (the younger group) and those of patients 50 and older (the older group). From 1992 to 1997, 107 patients with early breast cancer (non-invasive and Stage I) were treated in our hospital. There was no difference between the groups in background. Of 53 patients in the younger group, 40 (75.5%) were diagnosed as having cancer using mammography, while 44 of 54 (81.5%) of the older group were diagnosed as having cancer. A total of 46 (86.8%) patients in the younger group were diagnosed using MMG and physical examination (PE), and 50 (92.6%) in the older group were diagnosed as cancer using MMG and PE. There was no difference in the successful diagnosis rate using mammography in the two groups. Breast cancer screening using MMG may also be useful for women aged under 50.