Most women with newly diagnosed breast cancer remain alive and recurrence-free for many years after complete surgical resection. Thus, whether all these women require annual follow-up mammography remains uncertain. Now, data from the phase III Mammo-50 trial demonstrate that most women can safely undergo follow-up mammography at 2-yearly or 3-yearly intervals.

A total of 5,235 women with previous invasive or noninvasive breast cancer diagnosed at ≥50 years of age without disease recurrence at 3 years after curative surgery were randomly assigned 1:1 to undergo annual mammography versus 2-yearly (for those who underwent breast-conserving surgery) or 3-yearly (for those who previously underwent mastectomy) mammography for up to 9 years. Breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and cost-effectiveness were the co-primary end points.