Have an MRI scan aged 30 if you’ve got a family history of breast cancer

‘More deadly in younger women’

YOUNG women with a family history of breast cancer should be offered mammograms early to slash deaths, experts say.

Currently the NHS breast X-ray screening programme is only offered to women between 50 and 71.

But now a study has suggested that women who have a high genetic risk of the disease should have breast scans from the age of 30. Researchers said this would halve the number of deaths in younger women, saving hundreds of lives a year in the UK.

The study by the University of Washington said annual mammograms should be offered from the age of 40 to women with genetic mutations which increase their risk. They also recommended breast MRI scans be offered to high-risk women from the age of 30.

Breast MRIs are different from mammograms, a type of X-ray, as they are more sensitive and produce a more detailed image. The study looked at three mutations known as ATM, CHEK2 and PALB2. These are proven to increase the risk of breast cancer in a similar way to faulty BRCA genes, one of which is famously carried by Angelina Jolie.

Research based on data from 64,000 women suggested offering those with mutations mammograms from the age of 40 would reduce deaths by more than a third. And the number of deaths would be slashed by 55 per cent if high-risk women were also offered breast MRI scans from 30.

Offering mammograms to women under 40 would have little benefit as it would increase the number of ‘false positives’, where women may undergo unnecessary invasive tests or biopsies.

Women can find out if they are at increased risk via genetic testing. The NHS offers this if there is a strong family history of cancer or the faulty gene has been detected in a close relative.

Lead author Dr Kathryn Lowry said the mutations looked at by the study all double the risk of women developing breast cancer. She added: ‘Our modelling analysis predicted a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer at 21 to 40 per cent, depending on the [genetic] variant.

‘We project starting annual MRI screening at age 30 to 35, with annual mammography starting at age 40, will reduce cancer mortality for these women by more than 50 per cent.

‘We also found starting mammograms earlier than age 40 did not have a meaningful benefit.’

Co-author Dr Mark Robson said the findings showed the value of testing for faulty genes as well as BRCA1 and BRCA2, the most common breast cancer predisposition genes.

Miss Jolie had her breasts removed in 2013 because she carried a BRCA1 mutation. She later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes taken out to prevent ovarian cancer. The illness killed her mother at the age of 56.

There are around 55,000 cases of breast cancer every year in the UK, causing 11,500 deaths.

Data from Cancer Research UK shows around 10,000 of these cases are in women under 50 – before they are eligible for screening. Mammograms help to catch the cancer early, with prompt diagnosis and treatment crucial to boosting survival.

Nine in ten women diagnosed at the earliest stage live for at least five years, compared to 15 per cent of those diagnosed at the most advanced stage.

Last year research revealed breast cancer is often more deadly in younger women, which may be because they tend to be diagnosed later. Charities have warned young people often do not realise they are at risk, and have urged them to check their breasts regularly.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The age ranges for breast screening are developed in line with advice from the UK National Screening Committee (NSC), an independent expert advisory group.

‘Currently their recommendation is to invite women aged between 50 and 70 for routine screening every three years. The NSC keeps emerging evidence under regular review.’