Published in May 2024. Breast cancer screening recommendations are revised from time to time; ask your doctor or check the USPSTF for current guidance.

According to the latest recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), women who are considered to be at average risk for breast cancer should have mammograms every other year starting at age 40 until age 74. The USPSTF’s updated recommendations were published on April 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

In 2016, the task force recommended biennial mammograms for women starting at age 50. It recommended that clinicians and patients weigh the risks and benefits of screening for those in their 40s. The change to start screening women for breast cancer at age 40 was due to a review of recent available data on mammography.

The USPSTF’s 2024 update highlighted insufficient evidence on the benefits and harms of continuing to screen women aged 75 years or older, as well as on the benefits and harms of supplemental screening with breast ultrasonography or MRI in women with dense breasts who had a negative screening mammogram.

Other organizations’ recommendations

The American College of Radiology (ACR) published a statement in April 2024 regarding the USPSTF’s 2024 recommendations, saying these recommendations “do not go far enough to save more women’s lives.” It urged a more aggressive screening schedule, which starts at age 40 but occurs annually rather than every other year and continues past age 74. The ACR advocated for breast cancer risk assessments to begin at age 25.

The American Cancer Society also recommends annual mammography screening, starting as early as age 40 in average-risk women, with high-risk women receiving a mammogram and a breast MRI every year starting at age 30.

This article is general information, not advice for your situation. Members can call the office with questions about their own care.