Breast cancer screening by mammogram should start at age 45: American Cancer Society

Breast cancer has been diagnosed in 1.7 million women worldwide in 2012, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International. One of the best ways to stay vigilant about the disease is to regularly have mammograms to check for potential lumps in women who are otherwise not experiencing any symptoms of breast cancer.

In recent months, debates regarding over-testing and over-diagnosis for breast cancer has increased, with researchers say cause stress on women and exposes them to unnecessary treatments and thereby increases healthcare costs.

UPI reports that the American Cancer Society has issued new guidelines for breast cancer screening for women, announcing that women with an average risk should not begin annual mammograms until they are 45 years old. ACS's new guidelines were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. According to ACS, women who have an average risk of developing breast cancer based on their family history, genetic testing, and other risk factors, should undergo screening yearly beginning age 45 to 54. They also recommend no screening for those with less than 10 years life expectancy based on the idea that they will die with the disease, and not because of it.

The organization also notes that mammograms have risks and is not perfect, and that the new guidelines for 45-year-old women are for when "benefits substantially outweigh the harms."

Dr. Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, chair of the ACS breast cancer guideline panel and a physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center explained in a press release, "These recommendations are made with the intent of maximizing reductions in breast cancer mortality and years of life saved while being attentive to the need to minimize harms associated with screening."

"The benefits, burdens, and judgment about that balance differ depending on a woman's age, health, values, and preferences. These recommendations recognize and reflect those differences," he said.

TODAY reports that several health groups have different recommendations. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, women should wait until they are 50 years of age before going to get a mammogram, and should be tested every other year. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, on the other hand, recommend women 40 years and up to have a screening mammogram every one to two years, and yearly for those 50 years of age upward.

Dr. Susan Drossman, a diagnostic radiologist told TODAY, "The guidelines are directed toward the average-risk woman. That is, women who have no family history, no genetic predisposition. But in those patients, that's where we find most of our breast cancers."

She explained, "Only 15 percent of the cancers that we find actually have a family history. The remainder are all sporadic events. And now, they're asking us to take these patients, start screening later. That means we're going to find breast cancers much larger."