Mammograms do not cut risk of dying in over-75s
 US study offers first evidence on screening in older women, showing no benefit
Women aged 75 and older do not benefit from regular screening mammograms, a US study finds, offering some of the first evidence on whether screening makes sense in these women.
US researchers used claims from the federal Medicare insurance program for the elderly, looking at data on more than one million women aged 70-84, who underwent mammograms from 2000-08.
Women in the study had a life expectancy of at least 10 years and no prior breast cancer diagnosis.
They found that in women aged 70-74, the benefit of screening outweighed the risks, such as overdiagnosis, overtreatment and the anxiety of a potential breast cancer diagnosis.
