Panel Doesn’t Back Mammograms in 40s

A new report finds only “limited” evidence that breast-cancer screening benefits women in their 40s. The report comes from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The agency asked experts from 16 countries to look at the latest evidence on breast-cancer screening. The panel found that routine mammograms reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer for women ages 50 to 75. But the panel did not find enough evidence to recommend screening for women in their 40s. Experts have had the strongest disagreement about whether routine mammograms save lives for this group. And that continued with the panel that wrote this new review, one member told HealthDay News. The group was “split down the middle” about whether to recommend mammograms for women ages 45 to 49, the member said. Breast-cancer risk increases with age.