Federal Panel Recommends Mammograms for Women at Age 40

The group also suggested mammograms be given every two years, a departure from other groups that recommend them yearly.   

Mammograms have long been the gold standard for screening women ages 50 or older, but with recent evidence showing more women in their 40s getting breast cancer, a panel of experts is recommending the imaging tool be offered by 40. 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, and the second leading cause of cancer death.  But black women are at a higher risk than white women of developing breast cancer before age 40, and more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer. 

Not everyone agrees biannual screenings are the most effective way of using mammography. Skipping the year can give some undetected cancers an opportunity to grow. And some groups disagree that mammograms should begin that young. 

But limiting screening to every other year can also reduce risk for false positives. About 12 percent of screening mammograms result in callbacks, in which a woman is asked to return for additional testing because of an abnormality on the scan. Only 4.4 percent of those calls, or 0.5 percent overall, conclude with a cancer diagnosis, according to a study of nearly 3 million screening exams.

To read more about the recommendations from this panel, check out the story in The Washington Post.