Should the age of breast cancer be lowered before 50 years old?

Should the age of breast cancer be lowered before 50 years old?


In France in 2023, of the 61,000 cancers of the diagnosed breast, 8,640 (or 14 %) concerned women aged 40 to 50.
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The High Authority for Health was seized on this issue by the Ministry of Health. Le Figaro takes stock of the advantages and disadvantages of advancing the age of organized breast cancer screening.

Should we advance the age of breast cancer screening? This is the question on which the High Authority for Health will look at the request of the Ministry of Health. It has been around twenty years since the French aged 50 to 74 have been invited, every two years, to participate in organized breast cancer screening. But in 2022, the European Commission proposed to lower the age of the first control mammography to 45 years. Good, or bad idea?

In France, out of the 61,000 breast cancers diagnosed in 2023, 8,640 (14 %) concerned women aged 40 to 50. But above all, the incidence rate (the number of new cases reported to the size of the female population of this age group) is increasing continuous. For example, for women aged 40, the number of breast cancers increased from 98.7 cases per 100,000 women in 1990, to 131.2 in 2023.

However, these data justify offering screening to all women from 45 years old…

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