Should we raise the age of organized screening?

2023-10-02 07:00:05

60,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in France, and 12,000 women die from it. Gorodenkoff Productions OU/Gorodenkoff – stock.adobe.com

In France, a mammogram is offered every two years to women aged 50 to 74. Some recommend screening from the age of 40, but the debate is far from being settled for experts. On the occasion of Pink October, Le Figaro takes stock.

For almost twenty years, French women aged 50 to 74 have received, every two years, an invitation to participate in organized screening for cancer be you. But why 50 and not 45 years, as recommended by the European Commission in September 2022? Or even 40 years, as recommended a group of American experts last May? And why not continue beyond age 74? In the scientific community, these questions are far from being resolved. “Questioning these age limits is one of the actions of the ten-year strategy to combat cancer 2021-2030,” underlines Professor Claude Linassier, director of the prevention, organization and care pathway at the National Cancer Institute (INCa).

The current limits were defined taking into account the epidemiology of breast cancer. Its incidence increases with advancing age up to 70 years, then it decreases. The average age at diagnosis is 64 years. But, American experts argue, the impact of…

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