"Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer and occurred in  women in the United States in . Breast cancer afflicts  in  women in their lifetime and  in  die from this disease. Although a number of randomized trials demonstrate the clear benefits of mammography screening in women up to age  on reducing mortality data are sparse in women over the age of  especially minorities. In   percent of breast cancer deaths occurred in the more than  million women who are between the ages of  to  years.  In a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine Charles H. Hennekens M.D. senior author and first Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University indicates that black and white women ages  to  years who had an annual mammogram had lower year breast cancer mortality than corresponding women who had biennial or noirregular mammograms.  Among elder women the American Cancer Society and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommend regular mammography for ages  to .  Although many guidelines rely on selfreports Hennekens and his collaborators from Baylor College of Medicine and Meharry Medical College used the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results SEER program file linked to the Medicare administrative claims file which allowed them to identify screening mammography use from  to  from  nonHispanic women  black and  white. These linked files also permitted them to explore breast cancer mortality differences between elderly black or white women who selfselected for regular annual or biennial mammography screening. The researchers selected  as the lower age limit because Medicare coverage of the general population begins at age  and the exposure of interest was regular mammography screening in the four years immediately preceding breast cancer diagnosis.  Three mutually exclusive categories were defined no or irregular mammography biennial mammography and annual mammography. They looked at data from nonHispanic white or black women Hispanics were not included because Hispanic white women have substantially lower mortality than nonHispanic whites and the number of Hispanic blacks is small. The researchers also measured socioeconomic status looking at median household income the percentage of individuals living below the poverty level and whether or not they had a high school education.  Other significant findings from the study show that  White women who had died tended to be older to have a later stage diagnosis to have received chemotherapy and to have a higher socioeconomic status.   White women who died were less likely to have undergone surgery and receive radiation therapy.   Similar characteristics were seen in black women as in white women.    to yearold women receiving regular annual screening mammography during the four years immediately preceding breast cancer diagnosis had consistently lower fiveyear and year risks of breast cancer mortality than women with no or irregular screening regardless of race.   year risks were more than three times higher among white and more than two times higher among blacks aged  to  years with no or irregular screening compared with annual screening. Hennekens notes that further research is needed but that in the future the use of regular claimsbased surveillance for mammography as a source of data may offer some unique advantages over selfreports. From  to  according to Science Watch Hennekens was the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world and five of the top  were his former fellows andor trainees. In  Science Heroes ranked Hennekens No.  in the history of the world for having saved more than . million lives which placed him two ahead of professor Jonas Salk ranked No.  for the development of the polio vaccine. In  he received the Fries Prize for Improving Health and in  he received the Alton Ochsner Award for his pioneering work on smoking and health. In  he was ranked the No.  Top Scientist in the World based on his Hindex of .   About Florida Atlantic University  Florida Atlantic University established in  officially opened its doors in  as the fifth public university in Florida. Today the University with an annual economic impact of . billion serves more than  undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its sixcounty service region in southeast Florida. FAUs worldclass teaching and research faculty serves students through  colleges the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters the College of Business the College for Design and Social Inquiry the College of Education the College of Engineering and Computer Science the Graduate College the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan Healthy aging biotech coastal and marine issues neuroscience regenerative medicine informatics lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAUs existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information visit http"