[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 1892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-850]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health


Consensus Development Conference on Breast Cancer Screening For 
Women Ages 40-49

    Notice is hereby given of the NIH Consensus Development Conference 
on ``Breast Cancer Screening For Women Ages 40-49,'' which will be held 
January 21-23, 1997, in the Natcher Conference Center of the National 
Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. 
The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. on January 21, at 8 a.m. on January 
22, and at 9 a.m. on January 23.
    A number of randomized clinical trials have shown clearly that 
early detection of breast cancer by mammography, with and without 
clinical breast examination at regular intervals ranging from 1 year to 
33 months, reduces breast cancer mortality in women ages 50-69 by about 
a third. However, the picture is not as clear for women 40-49 years of 
age, and worldwide experts continue to examine the data regarding the 
use of mammography in this age group. Follow-up data from the Swedish, 
Canadian, Edinburgh (U.K.), and health Insurance Plan of New York 
clinical trials will be presented at the conference in an attempt to 
help clarify these issues.
    This conference will bring together the investigators who have 
conducted the randomized clinical trials, epidemiologists, 
statisticians, radiologists, oncologists, and other experts, as well as 
representatives of the public, to present and discuss the latest data 
and data analyses.
    After 1\1/2\ days of presentations and audience discussion, an 
independent, no-Federal consensus panel will weigh the scientific 
evidence and write a draft statement that it will present to the 
audience on the third day. The consensus statement will address the 
following key questions:

--Is there a reduction in mortality from breast cancer due to screening 
women ages 40 to 49 with mammography, with or without physical 
examination? If so, how large is the benefit? How does it change with 
age?
--What are the risks associated with screening women ages 40-49 with 
mammography and with physical examination?
 Are there other benefits? If so, what are they? How do they change 
with age?
--What is known about how the benefits and risks of breast cancer 
screening differ based on known risk factors for breast cancer?
--What are the directions for future research?

    The primary sponsors of this conference are the National Cancer 
Institute and the NIH Office of Medical Applications Research. The 
conference is cosponsored by the National Institute on Aging, the NIH 
Office of Research on Women's Health, and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
    Advance information on the conference program and conference 
registration materials may be obtained from Hope Levy Cott, Technical 
Resources International, Inc., 3202 Tower Oaks Blvd., Suite 200, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852, (301) 770-3153, or by sending e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The consensus statement will be submitted for publication in 
professional journals and other publications. In addition, the 
statement will be available beginning January 23, 1997, from the NIH 
Consensus Program Information Center, P.O. Box 2577, Kensington, 
Maryland 20891, phone 1-888-NIH-CONSENSUS (1-888-644-2667), and from 
the NIH Consensus Development Program site on the World Wide Web at 
http://consensus.nih.gov.

    Dated: January 7, 1997.
Ruth L. Kirschstein,
Deputy Director, NIH.
[FR Doc. 97-850 Filed 1-13-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M