Mexican origin: Breast cancer comes early

HOUSTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say screening for breast cancer needs to begin sooner for women of Mexican-ancestry than for other women.

Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston say they found half of the women in their study who had been diagnosed with breast cancer had been diagnosed with the disease before age 50.

The study, published online in the journal Cancer, found cancer was diagnosed in women of Mexican origin years earlier than the national average for non-Hispanic white women. The findings suggest in the case of Mexican-origin women screening begin at age 40.

Currently, U.S. Preventive Task Force guidelines recommend screening begin for all at age 50.

"Under the revised task force guidelines, up to half of Mexican-origin women with breast cancer may be undiagnosed or diagnosed in late stages, possibly increasing disparities in rates of breast cancer mortality," study lead author Patricia Miranda says in a statement. "Hispanic women are not recognized in the guidelines as a high-risk group, and we would like to see that decision revisited."