The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that women begin breast cancer screening mammograms at age 40 and continue to have mammograms every two years (biennially) thereafter. Bonnie Joe, MD, PhD, Breast Imaging Division Chief at UCSF’s Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, contends that biennial screening mammograms are not frequent enough and recommends that the standard should be annual screenings. Her recent editorial, “Annual Mammography Saves More Lives and Minimizes per-Mammogram False-Positive Results” published in the journal Radiology, expands on the comments Joe and Kimberly Ray, MD submitted when the USPSTF draft 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…
