Regular mammograms should now begin at 40

Women should now begin getting regular mammograms at age 40, not 50, according to a new draft recommendation shared May 9 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

The change in guidelines follows recent research that indicated women ages 40 to 49 saw a 2% breast cancer diagnosis increase from 2015 to 2019. It is estimated that 19% more lives could be saved beginning the screening at age 40, according to the task force.

“I think it’s wonderful news,” Dr. Valerie Gorman, MD, breast surgeon at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie, said in response to the change in guidelines.

“What we found is that women with an average risk of breast cancer undergoing yearly mammography beginning at age 40 allows us to identify these women sooner in their journey to breast cancer, allowing us to treat them better, allowing them to live longer,” she said. “(It) allows us to pick up those women we were otherwise missing and then diagnosed their breast cancer at a more advanced stage, which is affecting their outcome.”

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, with skin cancer being the most common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Cancer Society reports that the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer at some point in her lifetime is 13%, and an estimated 297,790 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2023.

Mammograms help with early detection of cancer and can increase a patient’s survival rate.

“Mammograms don’t stop breast cancer from coming, unfortunately, but if we can identify it at an earlier stage, an earlier time frame, the outcome is very, very good for these patients,” Gorman said. “If we identify their breast cancer at a later time, where it’s larger or more extensive, then their outcome’s not going to be as favorable.”

Gorman recommends women get a mammogram annually, allowing their doctor a better chance to catch breast cancer at an early stage. For those with higher risk or increased breast density, Gorman recommends discussing with your primary care physician or breast specialist about your frequency of mammograms. Women should assess their individual risk for breast cancer with their primary care physician at the age of 25, Gorman said.

“It is not one size fits all,” she said. “Are you a higher risk? Do you need to do them earlier? Do you need to do them with additional screening with MRI or ultrasound to additionally address your higher risk?”

Following a breast cancer diagnosis, Baylor Scott &White creates a personalized treatment plan for the patient, Gorman said.

“Once we’ve diagnosed a patient with breast cancer, we have an amazing ability to personalize our treatment for the patient, not just for their personal preferences in life, but also for their specific tumor,” she said. “We’re not just generalizing for tumors of this type. We’re saying, ‘We took your tumor and investigated the characteristics of your tumor and determined the best treatment plan for your tumor type within your body with your personal preferences.’ (It’s) an amazing step forward in breast cancer treatment and allows us to treat women and men that have breast cancer the best way we can with the best outcomes.”

Genetic testing, molecular genomic testing of the tumor, investigating the circulating tumor DNA, and improved imaging all play a part in personalizing each patient’s treatment, Gorman said.

“We’re eager to see how this (recommendation) continues to evolve,” she said. “There’s a lot of conversations that need to happen about switching that to annually, recommendations for patients with higher risk, recommendations for patients with increased breast density.”

To view breast cancer statistics, visit https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html and https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/. To view the task force’s recommendation, visit https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/draft-recommendation/breast-cancer-screening-adults.

Originally published May 12, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/arts_and_entertainment/regular-mammograms-should-now-begin-at-40/article_e2c78d6e-f0e2-11ed-870a-9707c3dfe530.html