Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) In 2026, approximately 382,640 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. (2) Early detection of breast cancer is associated with improved survival rates, including a 5-year relative survival rate of approximately 99 percent for cancers detected at a localized stage. (3) In the United States alone, women have a 1-in-8 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. (4) Approximately 85 percent of individuals diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. (5) The risk that an individual will develop breast cancer is influenced by factors including age, race, ethnicity, genetic mutations, reproductive history, breast density, family history, and exposures to certain drugs. (6) Most risk factors for breast cancer do not directly cause cancer but do increase the chance of DNA damage in cells that may lead to breast cancer. (7) Breast cancer risk assessment tools support health care providers in estimating the risk that a woman will develop breast cancer and informing appropriate screening, detection, treatment, and prevention strategies. (8) Multiple breast cancer risk assessment tools exist, including the National Cancer Institute’s Gail Model and the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator. (9) Despite the availability of such tools, there is no single, centralized, or widely recognized breast cancer risk assessment tool for patients, providers, and health systems. (10) Strengthening education and awareness of breast cancer risks and of tools that assess such risks can alleviate disparities in early detection and treatment across geographic regions, age groups, and health care settings. (11) In 2025, the Food and Drug Administration granted De Novo authorization to the first artificial intelligence-based mammogram risk assessment tool to predict breast cancer risk, further expanding the range of available tools but also increasing the need for improved coordination and evaluation of methodologies to reach a broader range of women. (12) Increasing Federal investments in breast cancer research and strengthening public-private partnerships is essential to streamline the current patchwork of breast cancer risk assessment tools to improve consistency and access while enabling earlier and more accurate detection for women nationwide.