Breast Screening Recommendations
Every country or professional organization develop recommended guidelines for mammography screening. Regular breast screening and clinical breast examinations are one of the best methods to screen for breast cancer.
The objective of screening is to detect breast cancer at an early stage or before it is physically evident. In Malaysia, population based screening has not yet been implemented due to limited resources and proper data statistics.
Recommended screening for women in Malaysia
Age > 40 years :
Annual / Biennial Mammography with /out supplementary breast ultrasound in patients with dense parenchymal tissue on mammgrams.
Age < 40 years :
Breast ultrasound
Women who are starting on post menopausal Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- screening MMG perform annually / biennially
- performed to establish baseline to ascertain the absence of any malignancy or other lesions
Screening for high risk women – with MMG / breast US
- past history of breast / ovarian cancer, familial history of breast cancer,
- history of atypical breast lump on biopsy
Note : As there are no definite guidelines for breast cancer screening in Malaysia, no women should be denied the opportunity for breast cancer screening if they express their wish to do so.