Yale Study Questions Costs of New Breast Cancer Screening Methods for Older Women

A new study by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine found that the percentage of older women receiving breast cancer screening remained constant between 2001 and 2009. But the costs of such screenings, due to advanced technology and procedures, increased from $666 million in 2001 to $962 million in 2009. The use of new technology and the higher associated costs did not produce any increase in the detection of early-stage breast cancers, according to the study.

Brigid Killelea, an assistant professor of surgery at the Yale School of Medicine and a co-author of the study, stated that “screening mammography is an important tool, but this rate of increase in cost is not sustainable. We need to establish screening guidelines for older women that utilize technology appropriately, and minimize unnecessary biopsies and over-diagnosis to keep costs under control.”

Dr. Killelea earned a master of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore prior to graduating from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.