A side effect of the vaccine can mimic signs of breast cancer, according to doctors.
(Courtesy University of Utah Health) A vial of the Pfizer version of the COVID-19 vaccine. Doctors warn patients to delay getting mammograms for a month after receiving the last dose of the vaccine, because of a side effect that mimics a condition commonly seen in cancer diagnosis.
National health experts, including a prominent Utah physician, warn women who receive the COVID-19 vaccine to wait at least a month before getting a routine mammogram – because of a side effect of the vaccine that mimics a condition commonly seen in cancer diagnoses.
“We don’t want patients to get these false positives to get these kinds of alarms,” said Dr. Brett Parkinson, Medical Director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Breast Care Center.
Parkinson’s said the center’s doctors, as well as doctors across the country, have noticed that some people who receive the COVID-19 vaccine have the side effect of swollen lymph nodes in the armpit or armpit area. Such swelling in itself is not serious and usually disappears within four weeks.
“Their bodies build up an immune response, and that’s a good thing,” Parkinson’s said.
However, when such swelling in the armpit lymph nodes occurs during a routine mammogram, Parkinson said, a doctor would likely call a patient back for a more detailed examination. Such swelling, he said, could be a sign of metastatic breast cancer – a cancer that has spread outside the breast – or lymphoma or leukemia.
The side effect occurs in 11% of patients after the first dose of the Moderna version of the COVID-19 vaccine and 16% of the time after the second dose, Parkinson said. He added that experts expect similar findings in patients who receive the Pfizer version.
“We started looking at this and we realized that if we don’t do something, we are going to have a lot of patients coming back unnecessarily [to their doctor] for these enlarged lymph nodes, ”Parkinson’s said.
Parkinson said signs have been posted at Intermountain’s Breast Care Center in Murray, and other Intermountain sites that perform mammograms, to tell patients that – in addition to other symptoms, such as a lump in their breast – they should delay getting a mammogram. up to four weeks after they have their last dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
(For now, the last dose is the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna version. When the one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes online, as expected after federal approval later this month, the first dose will also be the last dose., Parkinson’s noted.)
Parkinson’s stressed that if a patient has other breast cancer symptoms – a breast lump, or bloody nipple discharge or scaling around the nipple – they should not hesitate to see their doctor. “We’ll go ahead and do the mammogram,” Parkinson’s said.
When the mammogram is routine, such as with an annual checkup or follow-up exam after a lumpectomy, the test can be delayed, but not indefinitely, Parkinson said.
“Don’t skip your annual screening mammogram,” Parkinson’s said. “Postponing it for a month or two won’t have that much of an impact. Postponing for a year could be real. “
Women with an average risk of breast cancer should get a screening mammogram at age 40, and every year after that, as long as they are healthy, Parkinson said. Women with a history of breast cancer in their family, such as a mother or sister, should get mammograms at the age of 40 or 10 years before their relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first, he said.
Parkinson said the Breast Care Center does not provide screening mammograms to men, who make up less than 1% of all breast cancer cases. However, if a man finds a palpable lump, he should get a diagnostic mammogram, Parkinson said.