Breast cancer screening based on your personal risk is as good as annual screening

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-13 03:30

Australia; NSW; VIC

Image by Marco Jean de Oliveira Teixeir Marco Jean de Oliveira Teixeir from Pixabay. Story by Lyndal Byford, Australian Science Media Centre

Breast cancer screening based on your genetics and your personal risk of cancer, not just your age, is both safe and acceptable to women, and could offer a way to modernise screening, according to a US study of more than 28,000 women. The risk-based screening looked at personal risk factors, family history, genetic assessment, and breast density, and then tailored screening based on the risk profile - with more intense screening for those at higher risk and lower to no screening for those at lower risk. The study found this approach was not inferior to annual screening. An accompanying editorial by Australian experts says that this study increases confidence in the safety and feasibility of risk-based screening; however, its effectiveness remains uncertain as a substantial portion of women didn't stick to the screening recommendations.

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Research JAMA, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Editorial / Opinion JAMA, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Journal/
conference: JAMA

Research: Link to Paper 1 | Paper 2

Organisation/s: University of California, USA, The University of Sydney, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The University of Melbourne

Funder: This study was supported by PCORI (PCS-1402-10749), NCI (R01CA237533), BCRF (SPEC-18-006, SPEC-22-018, SPEC-24-026), RWJF (Pioneer Pitch Award 71864), Safeway Foundation, Bright Pink, Mount Zion Health Fund, V Foundation, Sanford Health Foundation, Salesforce, and generous donors (Ron Conway Family, Dorian Daley and Michael Krautkramer, Charles and Ivette Esserman, and Marc and Lynne Benioff)

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