Evidence to Support Screening Women in Their 40s

Kimberly M Ray; Elissa R Price; Bonnie N Joe

doi:10.1016/j.rcl.2016.12.002

Evidence to Support Screening Women in Their 40s

Radiol Clin North Am. 2017 May;55(3):429-439. doi: 10.1016/j.rcl.2016.12.002. Epub 2017 Jan 26.

Authors

Kimberly M Ray¹, Elissa R Price², Bonnie N Joe²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 1600 Divisadero Street, Room C250, Mail Box 1667, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA. Electronic address: kimberly.ray@ucsf.edu.
² Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 1600 Divisadero Street, Room C250, Mail Box 1667, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA.

PMID: 28411671
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcl.2016.12.002

Abstract

A large body of evidence demonstrates a 30% to 50% mortality benefit of screening mammography for women aged 40 to 49. Because of more rapid cancer growth rates in younger women, annual screening is more effective than biennial. Studies indicate that selective screening of women aged 40 to 49 would miss the majority of breast cancers. If implemented, recent US Preventive Services Task Force breast cancer screening guidelines, which recommend against routine screening of women in their 40s, could result in thousands of preventable breast cancer deaths per year. Vigilance is needed to safeguard younger women's access to screening mammography.

Keywords: 40 to 49; Controversy; Evidence; Mammography; Screening.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Breast Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
Early Detection of Cancer / methods*
Female
Humans
Mammography / methods*
Mass Screening / methods*
Middle Aged
Risk Factors