Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mammogram Age Guidelines Say Optional In 40s, Definitely By 50
Women should get a mammogram every two years starting at age 50 — and while routine screening brings little benefit in the 40s, beginning it that early should be a personal choice, a government task force said Monday. Also, there’s not enough evidence to tell if new 3-D mammograms are the best option for routine screening, or if women with dense breasts need extra testing to find hidden tumors, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded. (Neergaard, 4/21)
In 2009, I was among the scrum of reporters covering the controversial advice from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that women in their 40s think twice about regular mammograms. The task force pointed out that the net benefits in younger women were small and said women should weigh the pros and cons of screening before making a decision. (Hobson, 4/20)
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force affirmed that women ages 50 to 74 should have a mammogram every two years. Screening for women in their 40s should be an individualized decision, the panel said in draft recommendations that drew immediate fire from radiologists. (Robeznieks, 4/20)
Meanwhile, two labs are teaming up with researchers to share data to help target patients with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that can cause breast and ovarian cancers. And a start-up company says it can identify the genes from an inexpensive saliva test -
A first-of-its-kind genetic datashare program is being launched to zero in on patients with unclear BRCA test results — and save more women from the devastation of breast and ovarian cancer. U.S.-based Quest Diagnostics announced Tuesday that it is pairing with Inserm, the French public health institute, to launch BRCA Share. The goal: provide scientists and labs around the world with open access to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic data and improve the ability of diagnostic labs to predict which individuals are at risk of developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. (Miller, 4/21)
A Silicon Valley start-up with some big-name backers is threatening to upend genetic screening for breast and ovarian cancer by offering a test on a sample of saliva that is so inexpensive that most women could get it. At the same time, the nation’s two largest clinical laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, normally bitter rivals, are joining with French researchers to pool their data to better interpret mutations in the two main breast cancer risk genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Other companies and laboratories are being invited to join the effort, called BRCA Share. (Pollack, 4/21)
