Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In its revised Recommendation Statement, 1 the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends that all women undergo routine breast cancer screening every other year beginning at age 40 years.This is an adjustment from the 2016 recommendation for all women to start at age 50 and for women aged 40 to 49 to engage in individualized decision-making and part of an overarching aim to increase earlier detection of breast cancer and address inequalities in breast cancer mortality, especially among Black women. 1 Additionally, the task force, in acknowledgment of evolving technology, updated the recommended primary screening modalities to include digital breast tomosynthesis (3D mammography).They noted that digital breast tomosynthesis improves the benefit-to-risk ratio compared with digital mammography, primarily by decreasing false-positive results, a well-known screening-related harm. 2 The revised recommendations from the USPSTF shed light on 2 major issues that demand greater attention: addressing health inequities related to breast cancer outcomes and ensuring benefits for all women amid rapid screening technological advancements.The major impetus for lowering the recommended start age to 40 years stems from the observed increase in breast cancer incidence noted among women in their 40s and the need to tackle disparities affecting specific subpopulations.Notably, Black women continue to face disproportionately high mortality rates, 40% higher compared with White women in the US. 3 Black women also experience more aggressive cancer subtypes, such as triple-negative cancers, and tend to have cancers diagnosed at later stages, compared with White women.
Source: JAMA
Authors: Joann G. Elmore, Christoph I. Lee
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Cancer Institute
OpenAlex ID: W4396509443