Dec
5
Conflicts of Interest in New Mammogram Guidelines – or in Its Critics?
December 5, 2009 | 1 Comment
Posted by: Kathleen Daniel
There are no shortage of critics that claim that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force members must have conflicts of interest, given the new guidelines on mammogram screenings. The panel recommended against routine screening mammograms for women 40-to-49 years old, and screening every two years for women 50 to 74. These recommendations are almost identical to the World Health Organization guidelines, which recommend screening every one-to-two years between ages 50 and 69. Gary Schwitzer Health blog reports that new the Hastings Center’s Bioethics Forum lists a number of specific potential conflicts of interest in some of the critics of the guidelines. Mammography is not a benign screening technique. Unnecessary mammography leads to unnecessary surgical procedures – and exposes women to radiation that can increase breast cancer risk.
From the Forum’s article: “Appointed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the {U.S. Preventive Services Task Force} task force panel is independent and does not take costs into consideration; it evaluates only the risks and benefits of preventive medicine strategies.” It’s members are not allowed to have “substantial conflicts of interest, whether financial, professional, or other conflicts, that would impair the scientific integrity of the work of the USPSTF.”
The Hastings Center goes on to list organizational or personal conflicts of interest common among critics. None of these conflicts of interest have been mentioned in news coverage.
“Donors to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the “nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society”, include Hologic, which makes breast imaging products, and Johnson and Johnson, which makes an image-guided breast biopsy product. Donors to the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) Fund for Imaging Innovation include Siemens, GE Healthcare, Phillips, Hologic, and many others that make mammography machines or related products.”
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1 Comment so far
Actually, this is a good post. thx
Thanks for your comment! Kathleen