GAINESVILLE, Fla. – While current guidelines do not recommend routine mammography after age 75, recent research found that older women with dense breasts have a higher risk of cancer and may want to take a more personalized approach to breast cancer screening.
“Most of the research on breast density and breast cancer has been done in younger women and virtually there’s been no research on women age 75 and older in particular and as our population ages it’s important to consider risk factors and continuing or discontinuing screening in this age group,” said Dr. Dejana Braithwaite of the University of Florida Health Cancer Center and a professor with UF’s Institute on Aging.
The study examined data from more than 193,000 women age 65 and older.
Physicians note that not all older women would benefit from screening mammography, especially those with serious medical conditions.
Pesticide affecting obesity?
Canadian researchers have linked a commonly used pesticide to the obesity epidemic.
Scientists found that the chemical chlorpyrifos slows down the burning of calories in the brown fat tissue of mice.
Although the findings have yet to be confirmed in humans, researchers said people should carefully wash produce to remove any residual pesticides.