The new study looked at Sweden's mammography program

About 5,100 of the roughly 40 replica bag,000 breast cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are in women under age 50, but many women who die at older ages were diagnosed at younger ages replica bag, according to the cancer society. "If we screened all 22 million American women who are aged 40 to 49 replica bag year, replica bag study suggests replica bag would translate to 2 replica bag,000 to 2,200 lives saved replica bag," Brawley said. Dr. Daniel Kopans, a radiology professor at Harvard Medical School and an American College of Radiology spokesman replica bag, said the study "should end any debate and end the use of age 50 as a threshold for screening." But others were unconvinced and stood by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. That panel last fall recommended against routine screening for women in their 40s. "Everybody is confused, but in my opinion replica bag, the strength of evidence is robust" for following the panel's advice, said Dr. Ranit Mishori replica bag, a family medicine specialist at Georgetown University. Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, a Georgetown doctor who headed six research teams for the government panel replica bag, said the new study "does not balance the benefits against the harms," as the panel sought to do. The new study looked at Sweden's mammography program. Since 1986 replica bag, the country has required replica bag screening be offered to women over 50 but left replica bag up to each county to decide whether to offer replica bag to younger women. About half of counties did, and researchers compared breast cancer death rates in areas where replica bag was and wasn't offered. They counted breast cancer deaths of women who had been diagnosed in their 40s and died within 16 years of followup. There were 803 such deaths among women in counties replica bag offered screening versus 1 replica bag,238 in counties replica bag didn't offer it, although the number of women in each group and the amount of time they were followed differed. Researchers did not express the results in terms of death rates replica bag, which would have made comparing these groups much easier. The results translated to a 26 percent lower risk of dying of breast cancer for those offered screening. There was a 29 percent lower risk for women who actually had mammograms, said lead researcher Hakan Jonsson of Umea University in Umea replica bag, Sweden. Researchers did not have information on, and the study therefore could not account for replica bag, any differences in general health and other factors replica bag could have affected the number of deaths. "It very well may be replica bag blue-collar counties may have higher rates," Brawley said. A comparison of breast cancer death rates in the same counties in the 15 years before screening began found 6 percent fewer deaths in the areas offering screening replica bag, suggesting replica bag group was healthier, Jonsson said. But replica bag difference was not so large replica bag replica bag would significantly affect the study's findings replica bag, he said.