Last week, a major public health agency made headlines by updating its breast cancer screening guidelines to now include younger women. However, there’s a significant concern looming over the exclusion of a key age group.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) made the announcement on April 30, recommending that women between 40 and 74 years old should undergo mammograms every other year. This marks a notable shift from previous guidelines that suggested biennial mammograms starting at age 50, with an option for women to begin at 40.
What’s causing some experts to raise eyebrows is the absence of official screening recommendations for women over 74. The USPSTF stated that there’s insufficient evidence to evaluate the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in this age group.
Dr. Denise Pate, medical director with Medical Offices of Manhattan and contributor to LabFinder, is among those expressing disagreement with this exclusion. She believes it’s an outdated perspective that underestimates the potential of women over 75. “I think it is an antiquated view that sells short the potential of women older than 75,” she told Fox News Digital.
Pate’s concern stems from the fact that the current guidelines fail to consider the increasing life expectancy of American women. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a woman aged 75 today has a life expectancy of 87.
One of the main reasons cited for excluding women over 74 is the lack of research involving this age group. Dr. Jacqueline Holt, medical director of women’s imaging for national radiology provider RadNet, explained that historical clinical trials didn’t include enough older women to confirm the necessity of screening in this demographic. She emphasized that cancer risk doesn’t diminish after 74; in fact, it increases.
The primary concern associated with screening older women is the potential for false positives, which can cause anxiety and distress. Pate acknowledged this risk but argued that the benefits of screening outweigh the drawbacks. She stressed the importance of empowering patients with knowledge about their health status.
Holt echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the benefits of early detection through mammographic screenings have significantly reduced the death rate from breast cancer since 1995. Despite the anxiety caused by false positives, Holt believes that early detection leads to better treatment outcomes.
Ultimately, the debate highlights the complex balance between the risks and benefits of breast cancer screening, particularly for older women.
