Annual breast cancer screening starting at age 40 and continuing until at least age 79 results in a greater reduction in mortality, according to a new study published today in the Radiological Society of North America’s journal Radiology ».

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the US. Despite research showing that consistent participation in screening mammography can reduce breast cancer deaths by 40%, only 50% or less of women participate in annual screening.

As Debra Monticiolo, professor of radiology at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, New Hampshire, points out, the US Preventive Services Task Force’s 2009 recommendation to get screened every two years starting at age 50 had as a result of which participation in the audit is reduced at the national level. In its new recommendations in 2023, the Working Group suggests that women participate in biennial screening between the ages of 40 and 74. However, the American College of Radiology, the Society for Breast Imaging, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend annual screening for women at average risk for breast cancer starting at age 40 and continuing as long as the woman is in good health.

In the study, Ms. Monticciolo and her colleagues assessed the effects of screening at different frequencies and ages of initiation in the US by comparing the benefits of screening in four different scenarios: biennial screening of women aged 50-74, biennial screening of women aged 40-74 , annual screening 40-74 years and annual screening 40-79 years.

Estimates showed that annual screening of women aged 40-79 with either digital mammography or 3D tomosynthesis leads to a 41.7% reduction in mortality. The two-year follow-up of women 50-74 and 40-74 showed a reduction in mortality of 25.4% and 30%, respectively. Also, annual screening of women aged 40-79 showed the lowest per mammogram false-positive tests (6.5%) and benign biopsies (0.88%) compared to other screening scenarios.