"Women who get routine mammograms can lower their risk of dying from breast cancer by nearly half a new Dutch study suggests. Our study adds further to the evidence that mammography screening unambiguously reduces breast cancer mortality said Dr. Suzie Otto a senior researcher in the department of public health at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam the Netherlands. The routine screening also lowered the chances of being diagnosed with an advanced cancer she said. The study appears online Dec.  in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers  Prevention. Mammography screening including the best schedule and the best age to begin is being hotly debated in the United States and elsewhere. Some experts think women should start getting them at age . Other think women should discuss the pros and cons of the test at  decide on an individual basis and start screens routinely at . Ottos study only looked at women aged  and older. Otto tracked  patients who died from breast cancer from  to  and another  control patients matched by age and other measures. Among the women with breast cancer nearly  percent of tumors were found at screening and about  percent between screens. Nearly  percent of these women had never had a mammogram. Advanced tumors were found in about  percent of the patients who had never been screened but in just over  percent of those who had mammograms. Women who underwent screening reduced their risk of dying from breast cancer by  percent. Women aged  to  had the greatest risk reduction reducing the risk of dying from breast cancer by  percent. The risk reduction in younger women aged  to  was smaller at  percent but still considered substantial. The greater risk reduction in women aged  to  Otto said is probably a result of the longterm good effects of screening participation in the earlier target age group  to  before the upper age limit for screening was extended in the Netherlands from  to . The study findings add to the body of evidence supporting the fact that mammography matters in improving detection and survival said Dr. Stephanie Bernik chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. This study focuses on survival. The study however has some limitations Bernik noted. Its not clear for instance whether the women who died of cancer got less aggressive treatment or refused treatment. That could have affected survival of course. Mammography does lead to overtreatment in some cases Bernik acknowledged. Some cancers that are found on mammography may not have proven to be an issue in a womans lifetime. But there is no way to figure out which cancers will be a problem or not she said. More information To learn more about mammograms visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http SOURCES Suzie Otto Ph.D. senior researcher department of public health Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam the Netherlands Stephanie Bernik M.D. chief surgical oncology Lenox Hill Hospital New York City Dec.   Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers  Prevention online"