Breast cancer screening can be less accurate if a woman has had the disease before, according to a new study.
Survivors of breast cancer are more likely to develop new tumors than women without a history of the disease. However, few studies have been conducted on the screening in this group.
The new results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, are based on information from the largest mammography registry in the U.S.
The review finds a breast cancer screening missed tumors 11 percent more often in the survivors. Survivors were also one percent more likely to be told the mammogram might be showing a cancer, when the woman actually didn't have the disease.
"These findings and additional studies that are likely to be stimulated from this report should lead to improved (radiology routines)" for breast cancer survivors, screening expert Robert A. Smith of the American Cancer Society (ACS) said in a statement.
