In a new set of guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), women are being advised to hold off until age 50 before getting routine mammograms. Previously, the exams were recommended for all women over 40, but the panel adjusted its advice in response to six recent American and European cancer studies.
Computer projections predicted screenings after age 50 would produce half as many false positives while remaining nearly as effective. The new guidelines, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also state there is little evidence to support the benefit of breast self-exams. In addition, the task force suggested there is an insignificant benefit to mammography beyond age 74, at which point it becomes unlikely that cancer would be the cause of a woman’s death.
