Local doctors who treat breast cancer say they’re going to stick with the current recommendations for who should have mammograms and how often, despite new guidelines set by a federal panel.

The new guidelines, released Monday by the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, said most women don’t need mammograms in their 40s and should get one only every two years starting at age 50. These recommendations strongly contradict those of the American Cancer Society, as well as the local Columbia Regional Breast Center in Longview, which call for yearly mammograms beginning at age 40.

“At our breast center, one-third of all breast cancers diagnosed will be in women ages 40 to 50. Of those, 75 percent are diagnosed by mammogram,“ said Dr. Christine Katterhagen, co-director of the center. “If you remove the mammogram, you will probably miss this group. Ideally, we want to pick up cancer before it’s a mass and in an advanced stage.”

There is good reason to stick with the current guidelines, Katterhagen said. According to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s 2006 data, Washington and Oregon are first and second in the nation for highest incidences of breast cancer. Columbia River Breast Center sees about 120 to 125 cases per year among a population of about 80,000 women, Katterhagen said.

“Approximately 72 percent of Washington and 71 percent of Oregon women receive annual screening mammograms while the national average is 75 percent,” Katterhagen said. “In other words, we don’t have a higher incidence of screenings. We aren’t finding more breast cancer because we looked harder for them.”

Katterhagen said it’s unclear why the Northwest has the higher rates of breast cancer. “We have to look at what do Washington and Oregon share?” she said.

In addition to the recommended change in age and frequency for mammograms, the Preventive Services Task Force also concluded that breast self-exams — a drill women for decades have been told to perform each month — do not reduce mortality from breast cancer, but instead lead to more biopsies producing results that are benign.

Katterhagen disagrees, saying it’s still an important part of a woman’s health.

“Nationally, across all age groups, about 25 percent of breast cancer will present as a lump that is found by a woman or her doctor or her husband,” she said.”

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in American women, excluding skin cancer. It also kills more women than any other cancer except lung cancer. Last year, more than 182,000 American women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

According to the task force, mammography screening in women ages 39 to 49 reduces the risk of death by 15 percent. Members of the task force calculated that 1,904 women in their 40s would have to be screened for breast cancer to avert one death. That’s not enough benefit, the panel argued, to justify the radiation exposure, unnecessary biopsies, emotional strain, chemotherapy and other treatments.

The benefits of mammography rise for older women, the panel said. Among those ages 50 to 59, 1,339 women would need to be screened to prevent one death, compared to just 377 ages 60 to 69.

That one life saved comes at a cost to others, said Dr. David Grossman, medical director of preventive services at group Health Cooperative in Seattle and a member of the task force. Younger women have the highest rates of false positives, suspicious test results that turn out to be benign.

“A major issue with breast cancer is overdiagnosis,” Grossman said.

But even one life saved is justified to continue yearly screenings, according to the American Center Society’s chief medical officer.

Preventive Services Task Force recommendations

Age: Screening at age 50

Frequency: For women ages 50 to 74, every two years

American Cancer Society recommendations

Age: Screening at age 40

Frequency: Every year