Task force proposes lowering mammogram starting age to 40
Misty Severi
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The United States Preventive Services Task Force is proposing that all women with an average risk of breast cancer start screening at age 40 in an effort to catch the disease earlier, according to a new draft recommendation released Tuesday.
The recommendation lowers the previous suggestion that women begin going for mammograms at 50. The new recommendation also includes guidance that people repeat the scans every other year through age 74.
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“New and more inclusive science about breast cancer in people younger than 50 has enabled us to expand our prior recommendation and encourage all women to get screened every other year starting at age 40,” former Task Force Chair Carol Mangione said in a statement.
“This new recommendation will help save lives and prevent more women from dying due to breast cancer.”
The recommendation applies to every person who was born female and who is at average risk of getting the disease. This does not apply to those who are at high risk for cancer, such as those who come from families with a history of genetic mutations or people who previously had breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the U.S., behind skin cancer. The new recommendation also follows the guidelines of the American Cancer Society, which has already been recommending that women get screened starting at 40. However, the ACS suggests women aged 40 to 44 screen with a mammogram every year, women 45 to 55 get mammograms every year, and women 55 and older get mammograms every other year.
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Recent research has also pointed to higher death rates from breast cancer among black women. The medical journal JAMA Network Open last month found that the rate of breast cancer deaths among women in their 40s was 27 per 100,000 people for black women, and 15 deaths per 100,000 people for white women. The findings suggested 11 deaths per 100,000 people for American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander women.
The task force’s proposal is not final, but it is available for review on its website. The recommendation will remain open for public comment until June 5.