Canada's cancer screening to be majorly reformed: Breast examination to start at age 40!

According to CBC reports, Canada's federal Minister of Health has ordered significant reforms for the national body responsible for setting guidelines for cancer screening across the country.

The "Task Force on Preventive Health Care" is an independent expert panel established by the federal government, responsible for issuing nationwide disease screening recommendations to family doctors, including routine screening time points for common cancers.

However, over the years, the task force has faced repeated criticism for failing to fully adopt medical community opinions, relying on outdated research, and having slow update speeds. The publication date of many of its current recommendations has exceeded a decade.

The federal health minister suspended the work of the task force last year and initiated an external evaluation. At that time, the task force came under public pressure for insisting on recommending that routine breast cancer screenings begin at age 50.

This recommendation is seriously inconsistent with existing evidence. The Canadian Cancer Society and several provincial breast cancer screening programs have already supported lowering the starting age for screenings to 40. Currently, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 30 to 49 in Canada.

"We do see an increasing incidence of breast cancer in younger people, and our screening guidelines must keep up with this change." "Early screening can save more lives!"

In addition to breast cancer, the task force has also faced questions regarding its screening recommendations for cervical cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and others.

For example, the cervical cancer screening guidelines have not been updated since 2013. These guidelines oppose using HPV virus screening, as human papillomavirus is the main cause of cervical cancer. By contrast, the UK and Australia replaced traditional cervical smear tests with HPV screening in 2016 and 2017 respectively, because the latter can detect issues earlier.

In response, the task force stated in a statement that it welcomes the reform and called its guidelines "renowned internationally for their rigorous evidence-based standards," adding that the reform will "enhance its credibility."

The statement also noted: "This reform is not only modernization in methodology but also to ensure that preventive healthcare services can timely respond to evolving scientific evidence, embrace diverse perspectives, and adapt to practical application environments and local public health priorities."

The Canadian Cancer Society described this reform as "an impressive first step," while Breast Cancer Canada Foundation called it "a breakthrough."

The related reforms are expected to be completed by April 2026.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835295205449740/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.