Mammogram guidance changing amid ‘younger and younger’ breast cancer diagnoses

DENVER (KDVR) — The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced new mammogram recommendations on Tuesday.

The panel now recommends women should get mammograms every other year from age 40 to 74. Previously the panel made that recommendation for women starting at age 50.

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The panel’s recommendations are important because they can help guide doctors and insurance plans.

Dr. Kayla Griffith at Rose Medical Center in Denver said changing the age to 40 is more in line with the recommendations from other major groups. The breast surgical oncologist said she has long recommended mammograms for women starting at age 40, but she recommends them every year.

“We are seeing younger and younger and younger diagnoses of breast cancers, and we are seeing much more progressed diagnoses when people wait two years. So, I highly recommend getting in at age 40 every year. Insurance should cover it,” Griffith said.

Concerns about insurance coverage for mammograms

The Affordable Care Act requires that most private health insurance companies cover screening mammograms at no cost.

But Corrina Steiger, executive director of Susan G. Komen Colorado, said she is concerned.

“We’re concerned with these recommendations that insurance might not cover all the screenings that might be necessary for somebody,” she said.

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The task force did not make any specific recommendations for people with a family history or those with dense breast tissue.

“It should be a personalized decision, not one based on these recommendations, which again, just don’t go far enough,” Steiger said.

The panel said it did not find evidence to support annual screenings, saying annual screenings have a much higher rate of false positives, but more research is needed.

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