(January 27, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Women at high risk for developing breast cancer because they received radiation therapy to the chest area as children are not undergoing screening mammograms as often as they should, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Here are some facts about childhood radiation therapy to the chest:

•    An estimated 12 to 20% of women treated in childhood with moderate or high dose radiation to the chest will develop breast cancer.

•    Generally, the risk for breast cancer begins to increase about 8 years after receiving the radiation therapy.

•    Experts recommend that these women undergo mammography screening 8 years after the radiation or at age 25, whichever comes last.

Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York gave questionnaires about mammogram screening to over 600 women aged 25 to 50 who had received radiation therapy in the chest during childhood to treat cancer.

Among women aged 25 to 39, 47% had never had a mammogram. Only 37% had a mammogram in the previous two years and less than one-quarter had one in the previous year. Among those aged 40 to 50 only 53% received mammography screening as often as official guidelines recommend. Women aged 25 to 39 were 3 times more likely to report having a mammogram if their physician had recommended one.

We had a chance to speak with Dr. Aliki Taylor, who co-wrote the editorial on this study and offered some further insight.

Today's research highlights the need to develop new ways to encourage women who underwent radiation therapy of the chest in childhood for cancer to receive regular mammograms.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.