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AMA: Women should be eligible for mammograms starting at age 40
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The American Medical Association adopted a policy that calls for women to be eligible for screening mammograms beginning at age 40 years.
The carefully worded policy — which does not go as far as to recommend annual mammograms for that patient population — also calls for insurance companies to cover screening mammograms in women age 40 and older.
“Early detection of breast cancer increases the odds of a patient’s survival, and mammography screenings are an important tool in discovering this cancer,” Patrice A. Harris, MD, an AMA board member, said in a press release. “All patients are different and have varying degrees of cancer risk, and patients should regularly talk with their doctors to determine if mammography screening is right for them.”
The AMA policy contradicts a controversial guideline the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released in 2009 that recommended most women start routine breast cancer screening at age 50.
“For biennial screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years, there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is small,” the USPSTF said in its recommendation statement. “Although false-positive test results, overdiagnosis, and unnecessary earlier treatment are problems for all age groups, false-positive results are more common for women aged 40 to 49 years.”
The task force noted its recommendation statement applies to women aged 40 to 49 years who do not have a known underlying genetic mutation, a history of chest radiation or otherwise are at increased risk for breast cancer.