A new study suggests that Black women should begin breast cancer screenings at 42-years-old, challenging the long-standing recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for all U.S. women to start at age 50.
Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center and the National Center for Tumor Diseases who proposed the change believe it could save lives.
“Screening according to a ‘one size fits all’ scheme disadvantages women from certain ethnic groups,” Mahdi Fallah, a researcher at the Heidelberg, Germany-based institutions, said in a statement.
Black Women Are Twice as Likely to Die
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S. An estimated 13% develop the disease at some point in their lives.