The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) currently recommends that women begin breast cancer screening mammograms at age 40 and receive them biannually thereafter. Bonnie Joe, MD, PhD, Division Chief of Breast Imaging at UCSF’s Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, contends that biannual screenings are not frequent enough and the standard should instead be annual screenings. This editorial, “Annual Mammography Saves More Lives and Minimizes per-Mammogram False-Positive Results,” published in Radiology, expands on the objections Dr. Joe and Dr. Kimberly Ray initially raised when the draft of the USPSTF recommendations were made public in 2023.
There has been a longstanding debate over when to begin breast cancer screenings and how often to screen. In 2009, the USPSTF raised the suggested age of first screening from 40 to 50, and thereafter biannual. The…
