U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Updates Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations

Earlier this month, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and a prominent academic medical journal released recommendations updating the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening. The 2009 recommendations made front-page news, stunning women’s health professional groups and breast cancer patient advocacy groups. The USPSTF recommended that women start mammogram screening at age 50, and continue with biannual screening until age 75, which sharply contrasted with the recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Radiologists, all of whom recommended annual mammograms beginning at age 40 with no fixed upper age limit. While some professional groups (American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians) adopted the USPSTF guidelines, the recommendations became deeply politicized. Some saw the report as a government plot to save on healthcare dollars at the expense of women’s health.

Last spring, the USPSTF released the draft of their updated recommendations to public comment. In making the revised recommendations, the USPSTF took into account new information that strengthened the conclusions from 2009. On Jan. 12, 2016, the prominent academic medical journal and USPSTF website simultaneously published the new clinical guidance along with four original research papers, three reviews, four editorials, and one patient summary.

In the March issue of OB/GYN Clinical Alert, Physician Editor Jeffrey T. Jensen, MD, MPH, will discuss the recommendations for screening. The following month, he will discuss the potential harms of screening, and the risks and benefits of supplemental screening for women with dense breasts.