(File Photo)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. researchers report the rate of women getting mammograms to screen for breast cancer fell 4 percent from 2000 to 2005, according to a study at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

    According to background information in the study, mammographies are the best way to catch breast cancer early. Since the 1980s, widespread use of mammography has led to a reduction in deaths from breast cancer.

    The National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Preventive Health Services Task Force recommend that women 40 and older get screening mammograms every year or two. The American Cancer Society recommends annual mammograms starting at age 40.

    "Although it was small, this decline may be cause for concern, because it signals a change in direction," the organizations wrote.

   "It's unclear what caused the decline, although Brooks thinks part of it may be due to 'mammogram fatigue', said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La.

    "When women move into the menopausal years, they tend to lose track of going to a doctor on a yearly basis, and women who got a lot of normal mammograms in their 40s and 50s may ask, 'Why do I continue?' " he added. "But, unfortunately, people get fatigued when the incidence of breast cancer actually rises. The two great risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and getting older."

    The drop might also be due to other factors, such as more women without health insurance, higher co-pays for office visits, and a decline in the number of centers that offer the screening, the study pointed out.

    What experts do know, however, is that changes in screening rate do translate into changes in the reported incidence of breast cancer and, further down the line, higher death rates, it argued.

    (Agencies)