In a recent report, it has come to light that a few women under age 64 who have not gone through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are not even going for mammography.

Published in 2002, a study claimed that HRT is behind triggering cases of breast cancer, which gradually dropped the number of women going for mammogram checks for breast cancer.

To probe, a team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute examined more than 7000 women about their HRT use and mammogram checks between 2000 and 2005, and found that HRT use was associated with the drop in mammogram checks for women aged 50 to 64.

It’s believed that as HRT is being recommended by GPs, women using the treatment were made regularly aware about having mammograms, though the pattern got dislocated once they stopped using HRT.

"Our research corroborates that a doctor's recommendation is an important step in getting a mammogram and it shows that when circumstances change - such as evidence about HRT - it can upset the balance and lead to unanticipated and undesirable changes in mammography use", study's lead author Nancy Breen said.

With the report making news in the medical fraternity, voices are being heard for devising an alert system for GPs to remind them to see if women had a mammogram or not.