however, there are some sub-groups at a heightened risk and others at a lower risk. for example, a group that’s made up of five to seven per cent of all women runs a risk higher than 25 per cent of developing breast cancer. by comparison, another group that represents 10 per cent of all women has a risk of lower than four per cent.
since 1998, the quebec health ministry has run
a breast-cancer screening program
for women aged 50 to 69. women in this age group are encouraged to undergo a mammogram every two years. however, that screening program can miss cancer in some women, and that’s where the saliva test could help.
simard noted that one out of six breast cancers is diagnosed in women younger than 50. he suggested that if the saliva test could be given to women starting in their 40s, it could pick up those cases.
“the goal is really to be able to identify women at higher risk at a younger age, and then being able to offer to them access to a personalized screening approach,” he explained.
“the other advantage is if a woman is older — say, she’s 55 years — and based on her personalized risk assessment, she’s at higher risk, then maybe she can have access to the mammography screening annually instead of every two years.”