US expert panel says breast cancer screening should begin at 40

Women in the US should begin breast cancer screening with mammography at age 40 and be screened every other year until the age of 74, the US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended.1 US doctors typically follow the task force’s recommendations.The task force said that more research was needed about whether additional screening might be helpful for women with dense breasts—about half of all women—and whether to look at the benefits and possible harms of screening women aged 75 and older.The report’s recommendations apply to women at average risk of breast cancer as well as those with a family history of breast cancer and those with dense breasts. They do not apply to women with a personal history of breast cancer, those at high risk owing to genetic factors, those with a history of high dose radiation to their chest when young, and those who have had a high risk…
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