There's no formal guideline for breast cancer screening for women beyond age 75 in the United States. Some organizations say older women should continue to get screened as long as they're willing to, while others say there's insufficient evidence to support the benefits of continued screening.
A new study found that mammograms in women aged 80 or above can often detect early-stage breast cancer, when treatment may only involve oral medications.
“Early detection allows us to safely reduce the intensity of treatment while still achieving excellent outcomes,” Nimmi Kapoor, MD, senior author of the study and an associate professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said in a statement.
Current Screening Recommendations for 75+
Major medical organizations don't agree on breast cancer screening guidelines for adults older than 74.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose guidelines are widely used by primary care providers, last updated its mammography recommendations in 2024.
The agency advises screening through age 74. In a Q&A accompanying the update, the Task Force noted that for women over 75, “in the absence of evidence,” screening decisions should be made jointly with clinicians based on personal health, values, and preferences. It added that more research is needed on the effectiveness of screening in older women to guide future recommendations.
In contrast, the American Cancer Society advises continuing screening “as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live at least 10 more years.” The American College of Radiology recommends continuing mammograms beyond age 74 “without an upper age limit, unless severe comorbidities limit life expectancy.”
Benefits of Breast Cancer Screening for Women 75+
Kapoor said that old age is a major risk factor for breast cancer, as the number of aging adults in the U.S. has gone up in the past decade.
The observational study reviewed the records of 174 women aged 80 and older diagnosed with breast cancer at UCLA between 2013 and 2020. Most cancers were estrogen receptor–positive and HER2-negative—the most common, treatable type—and were detected at an early stage.
Patients who had mammograms had a 55% lower risk of cancer recurrence and a 74% lower risk of death, even after adjusting for age, tumor type, and surgery.
This study is "the first glimpse into what is happening in breast cancer in the very elderly patient population.” Kapoor told Verywell. She added that it's actually easier to find breast cancer in older women because there are many years of previous imaging for comparison, and new changes are more likely to be cancer-related.
Researchers noted that the study included only women diagnosed with breast cancer, so it didn’t capture potential downsides of screening, such as false positives, additional testing, or emotional and financial stress. Larger studies are needed to confirm the benefits of mammograms in this age group.
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One in four women with breast cancer is diagnosed after age 75, according to Robert Smith, PhD, senior vice president of Early Cancer Detection Science at the American Cancer Society. These are first-time diagnoses that can often be caught early through mammograms, he said.
Women over 75 should not blindly stop getting mammograms, said Jason Mouabbi, MD, an assistant professor of breast medical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Mouabbi added that they should seek guidance from an oncologist if they aren't sure about continued screening. Second opinions are generally covered by Medicare, according to the Medicare Rights Center.
