Breast cancer checks missing most women under 50 who are at risk, says study
A study published in the British Journal of Cancer highlights that current NHS screening protocols for breast cancer fail to identify most high-risk women under 50. Researchers propose using the Boadicea risk calculator to better assess individual risk factors beyond just family history.
Why it matters
This highlights a potential shift in medical diagnostic standards that could impact how healthcare systems manage cancer prevention for younger demographics.
A nurse provides assistance to a patient undergoing a mammogram in a modern medical facility [Getty] NHS criteria for screening women under 50 for breast cancer are too narrow and missing up to 95% of those at higher risk of developing the disease, researchers have warned.
The current guidelines - set by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) - focus solely on inherited genes and not other factors such as lifestyle, they found.
Older women are offered routine mammogram scans to check their breasts, but under 50s do not get any breast screening unless they have a strong family history of the disease.
Using a new risk assessment tool, a study published in the British Journal of Cancer identified eight times as many women in this age group who developed breast cancer.
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.
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