What: Researchers found that for women over the age of 74, breast cancer mortality rates dropped a little over 1% every year from 1993 to 2013 and then stopped declining. Previous research found breast cancer death rates had stopped decreasing for women under 40 in 2010.

Key line: “This study indicates that increasing rates of advanced stage breast cancer at diagnosis is an important reason breast cancer mortality rates are no longer declining at the rate they once did. The researchers believe that this may be due to healthcare protocols. While the medical community currently recommends a breast cancer assessment for all women by age 25, breast cancer screening is only recommended for women under age 40 who are at higher-than-average risk. Some guidelines discourage women over 74 from screening.”

Source: Oxford University Press