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Recent changes in women's cancer screening advice stunned some local health care providers.

Last week, a recommendation issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said women should generally begin getting routine mammographies at age 50, instead of 40.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also recommended limiting cervical cancer screenings to women ages 21 and older, regardless of their sexual history.

Local medical officials question the logic that these new recommendations will prevent unnecessary anxiety and false alarms among younger women.

Wayne Young, director of Battle Creek Health System's The Cancer Care Center, said women in their 40s who are given mammographies are more likely to detect breast cancer at an early stage when it is more treatable.

A mammography is not 100 percent accurate, but it is the best early detection tool physicians have, he said. Abnormal results can be followed with needle biopsies and further tests for cancer.

"It's a little discomfort for some women; for others it will save their lives," he said.

Young said his mother and sister died of breast cancer before age 50. His three daughters will be screened early because of their genetic link, but he wanted all young women to get the best preventive treatment available to them as soon as possible.

His biggest concern is that health insurers will follow these agencies' recommendations and retract coverage for screening younger women, he said.

"That will become an issue because, especially in this economy, that will be an extra out-of-pocket cost and some people will put it off until age 50," he said.

Dr. Kari Formsma, a Battle Creek gynecologist and obstetrician with Pathway Women's Health, said she is concerned about the recommendation to limit cervical cancer screenings regardless of women's sexual history.

She said the guideline fails to acknowledge child sexual abuse and teenage promiscuity.

Cervical cancer is caused by certain strains of the human papillomavirus. It is a sexually transmitted infection that a condom cannot protect against. A woman's risk of developing cervical cancer increases with the number of sexual partners she has.

o it doesn't make sense to say a 21-year-old virgin is at more risk of getting cervical cancer than a 12-year-old victim of sexual abuse who has had multiple partners before age 21, she said.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued the recommendation because cervical cancer takes an average of five years to develop. But that assumes women don't begin having sex until they are 16, Formsma said.

She agreed with the task force's recommendation against teaching breast self-examinations on the grounds that it is often more harmful than not. Women who perform self-exams are more likely to find and be treated for benign lumps, according to the research.

"Breast self-exams, I tell patients to do them if they feel like it," she said. "I'd rather them do things that are a clearly proven benefit, like exercising every day."

She also applauded the move away from annual cervical cancer exams to every two years for women with normal Pap tests.

The money spent on unnecessary exams would do more good testing sexually active teens for infections, she said.

Overall, Formsma recommended patients disclose their full sexual history with their doctor to know how high a risk they have of developing cervical cancer, and then schedule screenings on an individual basis.

Young said the same is true for women in their 40s who are concerned about breast cancer. Women who have a family history of breast cancer or a genetic predisposition should consult their doctor about getting earlier screenings.

"A woman just needs to check with her primary care physician because those people ... can recommend whether she should get a mammogram or not," he said.