Screening Mammograms for Women Ages 40 to 49

Abstract

Whether to offer population screening mammograms to women ages 40 to 49 has been a highly controversial public health issue since 1993. In 1997, there was increased debate on this subject in the wake of the National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference, during which the assembled experts found the existing benefit data inadequate to recommend routine screening for this age group. The reversal of this decision by the National Cancer Institute's National Cancer Advisory Board and the resultant new National Cancer Institute's guidelines endorsing screening for women ages 40 to 49 have highlighted the persistent controversial nature of this topic. This review summarizes the data surrounding this debate, the sequence of events, and the ongoing reaction to this emerging controversy.