All Women Should Start Getting Mammograms at Age 40, New Recommendations Say

New guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force suggest women 40+ get screened for breast cancer every two years

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A major change in guidance on breast cancer screenings advises all women to get a mammogram every other year for women of average risk starting at age 40 and until age 74. The new recommendations come from the US Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer panel of independent medical experts.

Previous guidance recommended that women start getting biennial mammograms at age 50 and that the decision to be screened at a younger age would be up to the patient and doctor and depend on family history.

ScreenNJ is a statewide service that provides education about cancer prevention and detection to the community. ScreenNJ supports NJ residents in obtaining cancer screening through navigation and mobile health services regardless of their ability to pay. For more information about ScreenNJ visit screennj.org.

The new recommendations were published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, replacing the task force’s 2016 recommendations. The US Preventive Services Task Force now joins the American Cancer Society in recommending women start getting mammograms in their 40s.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death among all US women, according to the task force recommendation statement. The US Preventive Services Task Force says the shift to regular mammograms at age 40 could save 19% more lives.

Breast cancer makes up nearly 30% of new cancers in U.S. women each year, and it’s estimated that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in the course of their lives. The median age for diagnosis across all women is 62, but that can vary by racial group.

Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer beyond stage I than other racial and ethnic groups. They are also 40% more likely to die of breast cancer compared with White women, the task force says.

Thinking about screening for yourself or someone you love? Start by talking to your primary care doctor about screening options or contact ScreenNJ, a cancer prevention, screening, and early detection program brought to you by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the NJ Department of Health, and healthcare and community organizations statewide. 

Many are critical of the USPSTF guidance to screen every other year, rather than annually. In a JAMA Oncology editorial published today in response to the new guidance, Wendie A. Berg, MD, Ph.D., Department of Radiology at the UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said the new guidelines do not go far enough and that annual mammograms will save more lives.

“Annual mammography is as efficient as biennial mammography but with greater overall gains in years of life saved,” she writes. “Annual screening is particularly important for premenopausal women, especially women in racial and ethnic minority groups. Regular risk assessment should commence at age 25 years to identify women at high risk who should start annual MRI screening. Many women with dense breasts or family history of breast cancer, or both, meet high-risk criteria for supplemental screening.”

Contact ScreenNJ patient navigators for free help scheduling your cancer screening regardless of your income or health insurance status. Email patientnavigation@cinj.rutgers.edu or call (833) 727-3665 or text SCREEN to 43386.

Last summer, New Jersey Family spoke with Dr. Coral O. Omene, a medical oncologist at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ dedicated to managing a diverse pool of breast cancer patients, about what age she recommends screening begin. “We typically follow the American Cancer Society guidelines, which is age 40, but we do see women in their 20s and their 30s with breast cancer, and especially Black women who present younger and with late-stage disease,” she said in a July 2023 interview. Read about her guidance on mammograms, ultrasounds and more here.

Read More:
Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk
Breast Cancer Screenings Are Important For AAPI Women 
Should You Get Genetic Testing for Cancer Risk? Here’s What to Know 

 

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