The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has published new Canadian guidelines for breast cancer screening – eliminating routine mammograms for women in their 40s – in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Routine breast exams for women in their 40s, according to the task force, are of negligible benefit and the false positives can lead to unnecessary and costly follow-ups and procedures. Instead, they recommend that women aged 50 to 69 should have a mammogram every one to two years, and women between the ages of 70 and 74 should have one every two to three years.
Otherwise, unless the woman has an elevated risk of breast cancer – such as a close female relative with the disease or mutated genes – routine mammograms under age 50 are not necessary, say the new guidelines.
The decision to implement the recommendations is up to each province. Currently several of the provinces – including Nova Scotia, Alberta and British Columbia – offer routine screening for women aged 40 to 49.