Photo: Manchester University
A Manchester Biomedical Research centre study has shown that annual Breast Cancer screening for younger women aged 35-39 with a family history of Breast Cancer would effectively detect incipient and cancerous tumours earlier and thus save lives.
The numbers of breast cancers discovered in the study led by Professor Gareth Evans were significant. The charity Breast Cancer Now have called for further research and a change in NHS screening guidelines to include those aged 35-39.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, CEO of Breast Cancer Now, commented of the trial results: ‘This could be an enormous breakthrough. We believe these findings could be practice-changing and urge the Government and NHS England to ensure the upcoming review of screening programmes sets out what further evidence is needed to consider screening for women aged 35-39 who are at increased familial risk of breast cancer’.
NHS UK currently recommend annual screening for women aged 40–49 years of age who have a history of Breast Cancer.
Further Reading
Annual screening detects breast cancers earlier for women aged 35-39
Final Results of the Prospective FH02 Mammographic Surveillance
New trial suggests younger women could benefit from annual screening.
