Mahmoud El-Tamer, MD

Mahmoud El-Tamer, MD, a breast surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, who moderated the session where the results were presented, pointed out that although the results were provocative, the selection of patients was “biased,” as they had already presented to a breast surgery clinic. “For some reason, they needed to see a surgeon,” he said. “So the 50% was half of a ‘suspicious cohort.’ The real question is are all women in the community at higher risk than we thought?”

The researchers said they are now using this risk assessment in a standard mammography practice. Dr. El-Tamer said, “We need to wait for these results.”

Helen Pass, MD

Helen Pass, MD, Co-Director of the Breast Center, and Chief of Breast Surgery, at Stamford Hospital, CT, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery, Columbia University, referenced the update to the American Society of Breast Surgeons guidelines for screening as one of her picks for the most clinically relevant breast surgery papers of 2015. “We need to be careful that with the changing messaging about screening mammography that women don’t stop getting mammograms altogether. Individualized risk assessment is more important than ever, as we begin an era of diagnostic individualization of ‘precision imaging,’” Dr. Pass said. ■

Disclosure: Drs. El-Tamer and Pass reported no potential conflicts of interest.