France wants to lower the age for breast cancer screening
The current age threshold is 50, but 5,000 women under 40 are diagnosed each year
Most breast cancers are found in women over 50, but a significant proportion are found in those under 40
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Women under the age of 50 could soon be invited for breast cancer screening in France, after health authorities consider the possibility of lowering the age of first mammograms.
Currently, breast cancer mammograms and screening is offered to all women with no known risk factors from the age of 50 to 74. Outside those ages, you are not eligible for free screening although a doctor can prescribe a mammogram at any age if they consider it necessary.
Transgender women who have taken feminising hormones for at least five years, or who are over 50, should also have mammograms every two years.
Lowering first screening age
However, the Direction générale de la santé (DGS) has asked the Haute autorité de santé (HAS) to consider lowering the age threshold, with support from the Health Ministry.
Anne-Vincent Salomon, director of the Institut des cancers des femmes at the Institut Curie in Paris, told FranceInter that it is a valid consideration, as the number of breast cancers in young women has been rising in recent years.
“More than 61,000 women a year develop breast cancer in France,” she said. “Of these, 5,000 are under 40. So there is a real question of how best to prevent and detect these cancers that occur in younger women.”
Since 2022, the European Commission has also been recommending that breast cancer screening be introduced from age 45.
Health Minister Yannick Neuder has welcomed the move, and said that the government was determined to improve prevention of these cancers through systematic screening.
He said that the government will “quickly propose extending and stepping up screening campaigns to target at-risk populations in particular, and reducing the age range so that these cancers, which are curable when detected as early as possible, can be caught earlier”.
Read more: Who gets called for a mammogram in France? Is it free?
Read also: Getting a breast cancer scan in France: FAQs
More screenings and lower costs
He also hopes that more women will have a mammogram every two years, even with the current age threshold. Last year, fewer than 50% of women aged between 50 and 74 had the test.
Read also: Concern as breast cancer checks fall in France. How do I get screened?
Read more: Half of women in France not aware of breast cancer risk factors
It comes after MPs unanimously approved a law that aims to address the cost of breast cancer treatment and reduce the often high out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients. The text, which was passed by the Senate in October, will now come into force.
