Mammography screening is set to open to women from age 45
Germany’s Federal Joint Committee has lowered the minimum age. The expanded service is not in force yet.
On 15 October 2026, Germany’s Federal Joint Committee decided to lower the minimum age for mammography screening from 50 to 45. Women aged 50 to 75 can already take part. The committee says about 2.5 million additional women would be included.
The decision is not yet in force. The Federal Ministry of Health is reviewing it. If the ministry does not object, the new age limit is to apply from 1 August 2027. Women aged 45 to 49 could then be expected to book their own appointments through the central invitation offices. Personal invitations for this group are expected from January 2028. The underlying change to the breast-cancer screening ordinance has applied since 5 March 2026; this step concerns coverage by statutory health insurance.
For breast-cancer mortality in this age group, the committee sees an indication of benefit that outweighs harm. It also describes a harm from additional overdiagnosis that cannot be precisely quantified: tumours that would not have caused symptoms without screening. Appointments for women under 50 are therefore not available yet.
Sources
- Mammographie-Screening künftig auch für Frauen von 45 bis 49 Jahren – G-BA passt Früherkennungsprogramm an (opens in a new tab) · Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA) · Accessed on
- Krebsfrüherkennungs-Richtlinie: Erweiterung der unteren Altersgrenze im Mammographie-Screening sowie weitere Änderungen (opens in a new tab) · Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA) · Accessed on