WASHINGTON — Las women must begin to be done mammograms every 24 months starting at 40 years to reduce the risk of dying from this disease, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended this Tuesday.
Until now, this independent group of experts that receives federal funding was in favor of women starting at age 40 deciding themselves, based on their health history, when to start having mammograms and reserving the mandatory recommendation for those over the age of 40. 50 years.
Their new guideline is based on a review of the evidence and a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“More and more women in their 40s are suffering from breast cancer, and rates are increasing by approximately 2% each year, so this recommendation will make a big difference for people across the country,” the agency said in a statement. working group chair, Wanda Nicholson. “By starting to screen all women at age 40, we can save almost 20% more lives,” she adds.
Second cause of death
Breast cancer is the second most common and the second cause of death from this disease among women in the United States, with more than 43,000 deaths in 2023.
Black women are 40% more likely to die from this disease than white women, so making sure they start screening at age 40 “has even greater potential benefit” for them, Nicholson said.
The new recommendation applies to almost all women, both those at average risk of breast cancer and those with a family history or dense breasts.
Almost half of women have what is known as dense breast tissue, which they usually only discover during their first mammogram.
Dense breast tissue increases the risk of breast cancer and means mammograms may not work as well for them.
“Unfortunately, there is still not enough evidence for the working group to recommend for or against additional screening with breast ultrasound or MRI,” says the organization, which calls for further investigation.
Background
It does not apply, however, to those who have a history of the disease, are at very high risk due to certain genetic markers, or have a lesion detected in previous biopsies.
According to the working group, the new recommendation applies up to age 74, an age after which the benefit-risk relationship is uncertain.
Although screening is a powerful tool in the fight against cancer, it also has its limits, according to the task force, which explains why it does not recommend annual mammograms.
Excess testing increases the number of harms, such as false positives or receiving treatment that was not necessary.
Source: With information from AFP
