Breast cancer screening should begin by age 40

Canadian Breast Cancer Network
News Release

*********************

New recommendations for breast cancer screening have been published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology by two professional organizations, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI). These recommendations include the guideline that women should begin annual breast cancer screening at age 40, and even earlier in high-risk patients.

Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN), the only national
survivor-directed breast cancer organization, strongly supports these new recommendations put forth by the ACR and SBI. "Mammography is the only screening process that has been credited with decreasing the breast cancer mortality rate and still remains the most important test that a woman can undergo to increase her chance of survival," said CBCN Executive Director Jackie Manthorne.

"We believe that a focus on prevention and early detection is essential for saving the lives of Canadian women and therefore we continue to urge provincial and territorial breast screening plans to add women 40-49 to their screening programs. We also encourage women to continue to practice breast self-examination on a regular basis," states Cathy Ammendolea, President of CBCN's Board of Directors.

This is in contrast with CBCN's marked criticism of the guidelines issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (SPSTF), released on November 17, 2009, which newly recommended that the majority of women under 50 years old do not require routine mammograms and that women over 50 require them only every other year. The SPSTF explicitly recommended against teaching women breast self-examination as well.

It is important to note that the ACR and SBI recommendations published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology were not developed in response to the USPSTF recommendations, rather, they are the result of a 2-year consultation process.

ACR/SBI recommendations also propose the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound for breast cancer screening, especially for women with the highest risk of developing breast cancer. While women with an average risk should begin annual screening at 40 years, high-risk patients should begin by 30 years, but not before 25.

In 2010 alone, it is expected that over 22,000 women will be newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and about 5,000 Canadian women die from the disease every year.

CBCN is a survivor-directed, national network of organizations and individuals. CBCN is a national link between all groups and individuals concerned about breast cancer, and represents the concerns of all Canadians affected by breast cancer and those at risk.

*********************