Vital Signs: Breast Cancer Screening Among Women Aged 50--74 Years --- United States, 2008

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Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. In 2006 (the most recent data available), approximately 191,410 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and 40,820 women died (1). The incidence and mortality have been declining since 1996 at a rate of approximately 2% per year (2), possibly as a result of widespread screening with mammography and the development of more effective therapies (3). Mammography use declined slightly in 2004, but rose again in 2006 (4,5). This Vital Signs report updates mammography screening prevalence in the United States, using data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
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