Findings prompt calls for review of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria
Young women in England who later develop breast cancer are not being referred for early tests or preventive treatment because current guidelines used by GPs miss 95% of patients, research suggests.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) criteria used to decide who should be referred by family doctors for further breast cancer risk assessment and specialist care is failing to spot the vast majority of women under 50 who will go on to develop the disease in the next 10 years, according to the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR).
The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer, prompted calls for a review of the criteria.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. It accounts for about one in four cases of cancer and is one of the leading causes of death in women under 50. Identifying women at higher risk early can pave the way for additional screening or preventive treatment.
