Health Panel Recommends Dropping Breast Cancer Screening Age to 40

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that all women at average risk for breast cancer should start having regular mammograms at age 40—instead of waiting until 50. This draft recommendation comes as USPSTF members notice an increase in breast cancer diagnoses among younger women in addition to high death rates among Black women specifically.

This latest advice from the USPSTF, a group of independent disease prevention and medical experts, is somewhat of a reversal. In 2009, the health panel raised the age for starting routine mammograms from 40 to 50. At that time, health experts were concerned that earlier screening would do more harm than good. However, new research reveals that many younger women are getting breast cancer, causing the expanded recommendation.

“If all women followed our new recommendation, we could reduce mortality from breast cancer in the U.S. by about 20%.” 
_{Dr. Carol Mangione, internal medicine specialist at UCLA and co-author of the recommendation}

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 42,000 women and 500 men die from the disease each year. However, breast cancer is treatable when caught early, and mammograms—X-ray images of breasts—are a reliable screening test.

What’s Next?

The proposed recommendation is not final and is in a public comment period through June 5. This is an opportunity for the public to provide their input and perspectives for the USPSTF to consider for its final approval.

Health experts stress that if all women follow the new recommendation of starting routine mammograms at the age of 40, it could save about 8,000 American lives each year. The new draft recommendation applies to all women who are asymptomatic and at average risk for breast cancer, including those with dense breast tissue and a family history of breast cancer.