Women are now advised to get a mammogram every other year starting at age 40 and until age 74, according to new recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force.
, a volunteer panel of independent medical experts whose recommendations help guide doctors' decisions and influence insurance plans, previously recommended that biennial mammograms start by age 50 and the decision for women to screen in their 40s "should be an individual one.
"Using USPSTF terminology, annual screening is just as 'efficient' as biennial screening but produces greater overall reductions in late-stage disease and deaths due to breast cancer, and greater gains in years of life saved," Dr. Wendie Berg, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, wrote in an editorial published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Oncology. She added that "it is surprising" the USPSTF recommends biennial rather than annual screening.
"The good and bad thing about the task force guidelines is that they're directly tied to health plans having to cover this at no cost," she said.
False positive results for breast cancer mean a mammogram may have been identified as abnormal when there is no cancer present. That can lead to patients needing additional biopsies, repeated tests and enduring psychological stress. "The USPSTF decision today is a critical change concerning women's health and the fight against breast cancer, acknowledging that women in their 40s will benefit from mammography screening, and sending a strong message to referring physicians and women that breast cancer screening should begin earlier than age 50," Dr. Karen Knudsen, chief executive officer at the American Cancer Society, said in part in a statement.
The updated recommendation includes both traditional digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis or "3D mammography" as effective screening approaches. The updated USPSTF recommendations note that there are "pronounced inequities" in breast cancer, and Black women compared with White women are more likely to be diagnosed at advanced stages and more likely to die, despite being less likely to be diagnosed with the disease overall.
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