Mammograms Benefit Half The Women In Their 40s

According to the latest research, all the women approaching their 40s should undergo mammography for the screening of breast cancer since about half of them already carry high risk factors for breast cancer which necessitate annual mammograms in these women.

The study questions the existing guidelines that recommend that women can delay having annual mammograms till the age of 45 and even 50. This study found over 50% of the women between the ages of 40 and 44 to have higher than average risk of developing breast cancer. These women were, therefore, found to be ideal candidates for annual screening.

40s: the new milestone for annual mammograms

This research was carried out by Dr. Jennifer Plichta, breast surgery fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and her fellow researchers. The aim of the study was to review the guidelines published by the cancer society in 2015 which stipulated that women could delay receiving annual mammograms till the age of 45.

American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends women to start having annual mammograms at the age of 45. The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS) has laid down additional guidelines which advise that

• Women should start mammograms earlier than 45 if they have a calculated lifetime risk greater than 15 percent.
• Women with a 20 percent or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer also should undergo screening MRIs.
• Women with a 5 percent or greater risk of a breast cancer-related genetic mutation should receive genetic testing.

The research involved more than 900 women, none of whom had been diagnosed with breast cancer previously. They were all studied as new patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital breast clinic between March 2011 and October 2015.

The study revealed that 50% of these women fulfilled the criteria for annual mammography set by the ACS and the ASBS. 39 percent of these women met the ACS criteria for above-average risk for breast cancer. 11 percent of the study subjects met the criteria of the American Society of Breast Surgeons.

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The study went on to study the percentage of women who fulfilled the standards for additional testing by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and genetic testing once screened by mammogram. It was found that 32 percent of the women met the eligibility standards for regular screening MRI and 25 percent were eligible for genetic testing, as recommended by ACS and ASBS.

The Future Prospects

"We believe formal risk assessment is essential for women aged 40 to 44 in order to identify those who require screening mammography to start at the age of 40, and those who would qualify for screening MRIs and genetic testing," said Plichta, the lead researcher.

This study puts a new perspective on the recommendations for annual screening mammograms since breast cancer screening is not a part of the routine workup in women of this age group. This research is expected to have far reaching implications in terms of expanding the efforts and resources for risk assessment of breast cancer in women in their 40s.