Combined Mammography Cost-Effective for Some Women
Reported February 23, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A new study shows that although annual breast screening using both mammography and MRI is a more time consuming and expensive process, the procedure is most likely a cost-effective way to improve life expectancy for women at high risk of breast cancer.
“For women at the highest risk of breast cancer, using both breast MRI and mammography together for screening will likely reduce their chances of dying from breast cancer and help them live longer, healthier lives,” study lead author Janie M. Lee, M.D., a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, was quoted as saying.
Women with certain mutations of the BRCA1 gene have a significantly increased lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Currently, mammography alone detects fewer than half of breast cancers in this high-risk group of women.
In Dr. Lee’s study, researchers compared the costs and benefits of film mammography, MRI, and combined mammography and MRI in a hypothetical group of women with BRCA1 mutations.
Adding annual MRI to annual mammography was found to cost $69,125 for each additional QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) gained. According to Dr. Lee, a cost-effective medical intervention costs between $50,000 to $100,000 per QALY.
Source: Radiology, March 2010