Young women slipping through screening gaps prompts call for broader risk tools
A Cambridge/Ireland study using the Boadicea risk calculator suggests NICE’s under-50 breast cancer screening criteria miss most at-risk women because they rely on family history; if all under-50s underwent risk assessment, about 26.5% would be flagged as above-average risk and referred for further testing—which would include roughly one-third of the women who develop cancer in the next decade—whereas current NICE guidelines would refer only about 1.4% of under-50s and miss most who develop disease. Experts caution that expanding referrals could raise workload and anxiety, and NICE says the evidence isn’t yet enough to change guidelines.
