Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 2

On the latest episode of The Reading Room podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., offer their perspectives and insights on recently published research that suggested the adoption of a risk-adapted model for breast cancer screening.

One multicenter study of over one million women in China suggested optimal starting ages for screening mammography at 43 for women of high breast cancer risk and after 55 years of age for those deemed to be at low risk of breast cancer.

Another study, published in April 2023, looked at data from breast cancer-specific deaths in over 400,000 women and suggested that optimal initiation of breast cancer screening should begin at 42 years of age in Black women with White women starting at 51, Indian women and Hispanic women starting at 57 and Asian and Pacific Islander women starting at 61.

In the podcast, Drs. Narayan and Patel discuss complex issues with adopting a risk-adapted model for breast cancer screening, key challenges with implementation and whether this model would reduce or possibly exacerbate disparities with health equity.

“I think it’s great that these authors are bringing some of this data to light and I think it could help inform some of our clinical practice, but I think we need to have caution in terms of clinical implementation and potentially fostering inequities by using race-based science,” noted Dr. Narayan, the vice-chair of equity in the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “Should Race and Ethnicity Factor into Starting Ages for Mammography Screening?,” “Study Finds Disparities with Follow-Up After Incomplete Mammography Exams” and “The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 1.”)

For more insights from Dr. Narayan and Dr. Patel, listen below or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.