Organized breast cancer screening concerns all women, without particular risk factors, from the age of 50 years.
But recently, in this context of the vaccination campaign, some specialists are warning about the results of mammograms, which could be altered in the event of an injection of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Mammogram: a doctor recommends doing this screening test before being vaccinated against Covid-19
Dr Lars Grimm, radiologist at the Duke University Health System, invites patients to perform their screening mammograms before their first injection of the Covid-19 vaccine, or to space out their medical examination by at least four weeks after being vaccinated.
While he reiterates the importance of maintaining follow-up appointments for breast cancer screening, as for any other pathology, he explains, however, that confusion can be made following the injection of the vaccine. In fact, at the end of January, an Israeli practitioner described the case of a 72-year-old woman, who presented with "opacities" in the chest, which could resemble a tumor, but which in reality was an immune reaction of the body following the injection of the Covid-19 vaccine ten days earlier …
"The difficulty is that swollen or enlarged lymph nodes can – on rare occasions – be a sign of breast cancer. However, after a vaccine, they are more likely a sign that the vaccine is helping the body develop. a immune response to protect it from infection with Covid-19 ", explains Dr Lars Grimm.
Breast cancer: X-ray may reveal lymph nodes, side effects of Covid-19 vaccine
Swollen lymph nodes are one of the side effects of many vaccines, especially the one against Covid-19, as several studies have already shown.
"Enlarged lymph nodes have been seen in approximately 10% of women participating in Moderna clinical trials," specifies the American doctor. Although mild, these side effects can however interfere with the diagnosis during a mammogram, as this x-ray of the breasts will show them.
It is therefore to avoid confusion and false diagnoses that this specialist strongly recommends that the two consultations be postponed, and ideally that the screening mammogram be performed before receiving the first dose of vaccine.
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