Mammograms costly for over-50 on dialysis

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Australian researchers suggest subjecting women over age 50 who are on dialysis to annual mammograms is not a cost-effective use of resources.

Study co-author Dr. Germaine Wong of the University of Sydney used the Markov decision analytical modeling to weigh the benefits versus the cost on data from the Australian and New Zealand Data registry.

"Given the available data, at best, routine breast cancer screening in this population with a significantly reduced over survival does not appear good value for money," Wong said in a statement.

Several factors affected the costs and benefits of screening, including the rate of breast cancer, the accuracy of mammography and the stage at which cancer was diagnosed. However, even under the most favorable assumptions, breast cancer screening for dialysis patients was unlikely to be cost-effective, Wong said.

The finding were presented in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Society of Neprology.