The US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued new breast cancer screening guidelines that lower the recommended age for mammograms from 50 to 40, potentially giving a significant boost to the mammography equipment market. Valued at $1.9 billion in 2021, the global mammography equipment market is projected to reach a staggering $4.3 billion in 2030, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Aidan Robertson, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The guidelines come as an anticipated change due to the gradual rise of breast cancer in women between 40 and 49 over the years. While the current system may handle any immediate increase in requests for screenings, we can still expect some long-term growth in mammography equipment sales as more imaging installations are needed to meet the prolonged demand of the younger age range.”
Major companies such as Hologic, which have the largest share in the mammography equipment market and have products in 2D digital mammography, breast tomosynthesis and retrofit breast tomosynthesis, may benefit significantly from this recommendation.
Robertson continues: “The overall direction of the mammography market is shifting away from film-screen mammography towards computer-based modalities that we see in digital. Digital mammography has been shown to be as good as and, in some cases, better at breast carcinoma detection while also improving the mammogram workflow.
“However, the main drawback is the increased cost which is the main barrier to digital mammography growth. Despite the financial downside, the advantages of digital imaging technologies are becoming clearer and as a result we may see film-screen mammography become obsolete.”
Within the digital mammography segment, breast tomosynthesis or 3D mammography is the main driver while retrofit breast tomosynthesis is offering more affordable options for upgrading 2D systems which is leading to higher sales.
Robertson concludes: “The expansion of the recommended breast screening age range along with the advancements in digital mammography may contribute to the stable growth of the mammography equipment market going forward.”
