The study indicated that the drop off in mammograms among breast cancer survivors coincided with their transition of care from oncologists back to primary care physicians.

Only 63 percent of nearly 800 mostly white women ages 55 and older had a mammogram during the fifth year of follow-up, compared with nearly 80 percent during the first year, a study by Dr. Chyke A. Doubeni and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center said.

Transition to Primary Care

The report, published in the online edition of the journal Cancer, found that only 45 percent of the women had a mammogram during each of the first four years and 33 percent during each the first five years.

The study indicated that the drop off coincided with the transition of cancer survivors' care from oncologists back to primary care physicians.

It was not clear if the transition was responsible for the dwindling compliance with screening.

Women aged 75 or older with other illnesses were significantly less likely than the others to comply with annual screening, the study found.