Cambridge Study Says NICE Breast Cancer Rules Miss 95% of Women Under 50
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 4
Cambridge Study Says NICE Breast Cancer Rules Miss 95% of Women Under 50
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 4
Summary
95% of women under 50 in England who develop breast cancer within 10 years are missed by GP referral criteria based on NICE guidance, according to Cambridge and ICR research.
73% of those younger women had no family history of breast cancer, a key reason the current rules fail because referrals rely heavily on familial risk.
Boadicea, a broader risk model using reproductive history, lifestyle and genetics, identified eight times as many younger women who would later develop the disease.
Researchers and charities urged a review of the criteria, but NICE said the evidence does not yet justify changing its familial breast cancer guideline and cited feasibility, resource and clinical-outcome questions.