"New research suggests that all women turning  should get a breast cancer risk assessment since half of them may have risks that are high enough to warrant annual mammograms https right away. The finding is important because the latest guidelines on mammograms https advise that most women can wait until the age of  or  to start having annual screenings. But the review of female patients between the ages of  and  found that  percent had an aboveaverage risk for breast cancer https and therefore would be eligible to begin screening mammography at age  said lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Plichta. Shes a breast surgery fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. The study also found a significant percentage of women would qualify for other breast screening methods including breast MRI and genetic testing Plichta said. We believe formal risk assessment https is essential for women ages  to  in order to identify those who require screening mammography to start at the age of  and those who would qualify for screening MRIs and genetic testing Plichta said. Plichta was to present her teams findings Thursday at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting in Dallas. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until theyve been published in a peerreviewed journal. The analysis was designed to look at new breast cancer screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. The cancer society updated its guidelines in  recommending that women could wait until age  to start receiving annual mammograms. Previously the cancer society had recommended yearly screenings starting at age . The American Society of Breast Surgeons ASBS subsequently changed its guidelines to mirror the new cancer society recommendation Plichta said. However she noted the ASBS added a few extra conditions  Women should start mammograms earlier than  if they have a calculated lifetime risk greater than  percent.  Women with a  percent or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer also should undergo screening MRIs.  Women with a  percent or greater risk of a breast cancerrelated genetic mutation should receive genetic testing. Critical to the development and interpretation of both of these new guidelines is formal risk assessment Plichta said. Furthermore risk assessment is needed not only to determine who qualifies for mammography but also who may require screening MRIs andor genetic testing. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations state that most women begin mammography at age . However they also say that women should talk to their doctors about risk factors that could lead them to start breast cancer screening earlier. The new study involved more than  women. None had been diagnosed with breast cancer. All were seen as new patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital breast clinic between March  and October  the researchers said. Fifty percent of these women met either the ACS or the ASBS requirements for early mammography Plichta said. That includes  percent who met the ACS criteria for aboveaverage risk for breast cancer and an additional  percent who met the American Society of Breast Surgeons criteria. The researchers also found that  percent of the women met the groups eligibility standards for regular screening MRIs and  percent would be eligible for genetic testing Plichta said. Breast cancer risk assessments are typically not a part of standard care for this age group the researchers noted. Since the new guidelines lean heavily on knowing breast cancer risk doctors need to redouble their efforts to make sure risk assessments are done for women in their early s they concluded."