Outcomes of Screening Mammography in Elderly Women
Abstract
There is uncertainty about whether women older than age 65 should undergo screening mammography. Although screening mammography may benefit some elderly women through the detection of early breast cancers, it may potentially harm other women through false positive diagnoses and the detection and surgical treatment of clinically insignificant lesions. This research study involves the design and implementation of a data analysis of HCFA Medicare billing claims linked with National tumor registry data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. The specific aims of this research will evaluate 1) differences in breast cancer mortality, 2) differences in breast cancer treatment and 3) difference in breast cancer tumor attributes (such as size and stage) between women who were screened and those who were not. In the first year of this grant the PI has developed the methodologies for performing the analyses, has obtained the NCI created linked Medicare/SEER database, she has organized the appropriate research team to analyze this data set, and she has begun the project to validate that Medicare claims are accurate for determining the use of screening mammography by collaborating with multiple sites that participate in the NCI funded Breast Cancer Screening Consortium.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA388015
Entities
People
- Rebecca Smith-bindman
Organizations
- University of California, San Francisco