Medical experts just released the new side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine on women. It turns out that those who go for a mammogram may have a false-positive result.
COVID-19 effect on a mammogram
According to the report from Mayo Clinic, the COVID-19 vaccine can cause swollen lymph nodes under the arm where shots are normally given.
The doctors at the Mayo Clinic stated that the swelling in the lymph nodes signifies that the person's body is positively responding to the vaccine and is creating a defense against COVID-19.
What causes the confusion during mammograms is that breast cancer causes lymph nodes under the armpit to swell too. Due to the similarities, some patients got false-positive results in their mammograms.
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A doctor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, told KHOU in an interview that they had witnessed at least 10 false-positive results in mammograms this week alone.
Dr. Jerome Schroeder, a breast imagining radiologist at SLC Health Breast Care Center, said that he had not seen it himself, but he has colleagues in his group that work throughout Texas and have seen at least two cases of false positives, but it has not been a massive issue so far.
The MD Anderson Cancer Center is now warming patients that swelling could impact the results of mammograms for up to six weeks after the COVID-19 vaccination, so medical experts are urging patients to check on their schedule carefully.
Dr. Schroeder and his colleague, Dr. Chelsea Gawryletz, urge their patients in Denver not to cancel or reschedule their mammograms even after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Gawryletz said that they know screening saves lives, if someone is overdue for any of the screenings, particularly for a mammography screening, get the mammogram no matter what the vaccine status is.
Pandemic's effect on cancer screenings
According to the National Cancer Institute, around 10,000 deaths over the next decade is expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on cancer screening and treatments.
On Jan. 5, it was revealed that the first studies to examine the impact of the pandemic on cancer diagnosis were done by researchers at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center.
The study shows a decline in cancer and precancer diagnoses at the Northeast's largest health care system during the pandemic's peak due to the drop in the number of cancer screening tests that were done.
The findings confirmed concerns that the pandemic restrictions have delayed the detection and treatment of numerous types of cancers. The data shows that cancer screenings and diagnosis at the healthcare system rebounded to pre-pandemic levels just months following the peak.
The study published by JAMA Oncology, gives added impetus for those who missed or postponed their cancer screening test early in the pandemic to call their healthcare provider to discuss rescheduling the screening and treatment.
Ziad Bakouny, M.D., MSc, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-author of the study said that it is widely thought that fewer people were screened for cancer during the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the limitations on non-urgent medical procedures and restrictions on patient volume.
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Written by Sieeka Khan
