Breast cancer is very treatable when caught early, and mammograms, which are X-ray images of breasts, are a reliable screening test to detect it. Now, final guidelines released Tuesday from the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce urge all women to get screened every other year, starting at age 40.
The new recommendation applies to all people assigned female at birth who are at average risk of breast cancer.
The recommendation is based on a review of new evidence by an independent panel of experts at the task force. Until now, women in their 40s have been encouraged to have a conversation with their health care provider about when to start mammograms based on their personal risks.
The task force’s previous recommendation was for women to start mammograms at 50, and for women ages 40-49 to consider it, depending on personal risk. The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 to 44 who are at “average” risk should “have the option” to start screening, but stops short of recommending it for all women, until age 45.
The evidence has shifted in support of recommending mammograms for all women at 40, says, Dr. Carol Mangione, an internal medicine specialist at UCLA who served as previous Chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce and is co-author of the new recommendation.
“New and more inclusive science about breast cancer in women younger than the age of 50 has allowed us to expand our prior recommendation,” Mangione says. Mangione points to the rise in breast cancer among people in their forties. “There are a lot more women getting breast cancer, and that influences our recommendation,” she says.
The task force recommendations are considered the gold standard because they’re based on a thorough review of evidence by an independent group of…
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