// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Breast cancer checks missing most women under 50 who are at risk, says study
A nurse provides assistance to a patient undergoing a mammogram in a modern medical facility
NHS criteria for screening women under 50 for breast cancer are too narrow and missing up to 95% of those at higher risk of developing the disease, researchers have warned.
The current guidelines - set by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) - focus solely on inherited genes and not other factors such as lifestyle, they found.
Older women are offered routine mammogram scans to check their breasts, but under 50s do not get any breast screening unless they have a strong family history of the disease.
Using a new risk assessment tool, a study published in the British Journal of Cancer identified eight times as many women in this age group who developed breast cancer.
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.
About one in seven women develop breast cancer in their lifetime, yet only 5-10% of cases are linked to inherited genes.
Most cases - 96% - are in women over 40, while 25% are in women over 75.
Men can get breast cancer too, with about 420 new cases every year in the UK.
In England, guidance from Nice recommends GPs ask about family history if a woman is worried that she might have a higher risk of breast cancer, and sometimes if they are over 35 and using an oral contraceptive pill or considering taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).