SEATTLE, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher suggests scheduling mammograms during the first week of the menstrual cycle may help improve the efficacy of the exam.
Diana Miglioretti of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle and colleagues say breast density varies slightly with the menstrual cycle. Dense breast tissue shows up as white on a mammogram and can obscure abnormal findings, which are also white.
Women can't always predict their cycle, the researchers say, but if possible, scheduling screening in the first week of the cycle may help lessen density. Additionally, many women experience breast tenderness in the second half of their cycle, so avoiding this time could reduce discomfort.
"Premenopausal women having regular screening mammography could benefit from scheduling their exams during the first week of their menstrual cycle," Miglioretti says in a statement.
Miglioretti is among the authors of a study, published in Radiology, that finds mammography was more sensitive during the first week of the menstrual cycle at detecting cancer. However, specificity -- the ability to reliably recognize the absence of breast cancer -- did not change with menstrual cycle.
Miglioretti and colleagues analyzed 387,218 screening mammograms from premenopausal women -- of which 1,283 were linked to an actual case of breast cancer. The researchers used data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium.
