Mammogram rates falling in United States

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Cancer experts are concerned about a report that relatively fewer U.S. women over age 40 have been getting mammograms.

A report from the National Cancer Institute said the use of mammography dramatically increased in women over age 40 between 1987 and 2000 -- from 39.1 percent to 70.1 percent. By 2005, rates had fallen to 66 percent.

While a mammogram can be uncomfortable, doctors say it is the best way to detect breast cancer early, HealthDay News said Friday.

The American Cancer Society said the death rate for breast cancer has been dropping since 1989, with the decrease coinciding with an increase in the use of mammograms, HealthDay News said.

Dr. Michael Naughton, an oncologist at the Washington University School of Medicine's Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, said mammograms are the most effective tests currently available.

"If we stopped doing mammograms today, we wouldn't see an increase in the mortality rate for four or five years," Naughton told HealthDay News. "But survival is linked to early detection. The earlier the stage of cancer when we find it, the more likely the woman will survive."