A new study suggests that annual mammograms may not be the only effective approach for preventing breast cancer.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), tested a risk-based breast cancer screening approach against standard annual mammography.

The WISDOM randomized clinical trial, led by study authors from universities and healthcare systems across the U.S., considered more than 28,000 women aged 40 to 74 years old, splitting them into a risk-based screening group and an annual mammography group.

ERIN ANDREWS HAD ‘NO SYMPTOMS’ BEFORE CANCER DIAGNOSIS, PUSHES FOR EARLY SCREENINGS

Researchers calculated each woman’s individual risk based on genetics (sequencing of nine breast cancer genes) and other health factors. 

Those who were at the highest risk were advised to alternate between a mammogram and an MRI scan every six months. Patients with elevated risk were told to get an annual mammography and counseling.

Average-risk women were guided to get mammograms every two years, while low-risk individuals were advised to have no screening until they became higher risk or reached age 50.

HIDDEN TYPE OF BREAST CANCER COULD BE EXPOSED BY NEW BREAKTHROUGH TECH

The researchers found that risk-based screening did not lead to more advanced cancer diagnoses (stage 2B or higher) compared with annual screening, indicating that it is just as safe as traditional methods. The risk-based approach, however, did not reduce the number of biopsies overall, as researchers had hoped.

Among the risk-based group of women, those with higher risk had more screening, biopsies and detected cancers. Women at lower risk had fewer procedures.

“[The] findings suggest that risk-based breast cancer screening is a safe alternative to annual screening for women aged 40 to 74 years,” the researchers noted in the research summary. “Screening intensity matched individual risk, potentially reducing unnecessary imaging.”

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Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier, associate professor of radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey, commented that while these findings are important, the study “completely sidelines” what screenings are designed to do — detect cancer early.

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“If you don’t measure stage 0, stage 1 or stage 2A cancers, you can’t tell whether personalized screening delays diagnosis in a way that matters for survival and treatment intensity,” Saphier, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

More than 60% of breast cancers in the U.S. are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2A, where cure rates exceed 90%, the doctor noted.

The trial doesn’t “fully evaluate” whether risk-based screening changes detection at the earliest and most treatable stages, where screening “delivers its greatest benefit,” according to Saphier.

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“Mammography is not without risk — radiation exposure, false positives, anxiety and potential over-diagnosis are real and should be acknowledged,” she said. “But it remains the most effective, evidence-based tool for detecting breast cancer early, when treatment is most successful.”

The expert added that labeling women under 50 as “low risk” is “outdated,” as breast cancer diagnoses are on the rise in younger females.

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“Until long-term mortality data support alternative approaches, annual screening beginning at 40 for average risk women should continue,” Saphier added. “Women should be assessed for breast cancer risk by 25 years old to determine if screening should begin earlier.”

Washington, DC – Medical victim Chloe Cole was at the center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Thursday announcement of proposed regulatory actions to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors.

The proposed regulatory actions by the HHS are part of President Donald Trump‘s January executive order calling on the department to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.”

The department is rolling out a series of policy updates and regulatory actions that would effectively defund hospitals that provide gender transition procedures, according to an HHS official. 

NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS IDENTIFYING AS TRANSGENDER PLUNGES BY NEARLY HALF IN TWO YEARS

Cole, now 21 years old, went through the process of medical transition from female to male between the ages of 12 and 16.

The California native took to the stage alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials Thursday to advocate for the protection of children. Afterward, she told Fox News Digital the puberty blockers, testosterone injections and double mastectomy she endured have irreversibly and permanently affected her health.

“As soon as gender was in the picture, none of my doctors or psychologists asked the real questions that they should have,” said Cole. “The entire focus was on my feelings and what I wanted rather than what I really needed in that moment.”

What she needed, Cole said, was to be loved and affirmed for the way God created her — “as a young and yet tomboyish little girl.”

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She maintained that her doctors neglected to share risks, only touting the “benefits” of stopping female puberty and using testosterone to promote body hair growth, musculature and different fat distribution.

“There was nothing they could say to me that would make me understand the gravity of what I was about to go through, because I was still growing up,” said Cole. “I had very little experience in the world, and I simply would not be mature enough to be equipped to undergo such a life-changing procedure in every way.”

Cole noted that her parents never thought she was transgender, but felt like the odds were stacked against them.

“At the time when we started going through this as a family, there really were no resources that would speak to the reality of transgenderism, especially for children,” she said. “Most people were not aware then that this was something that was even happening in our hospital systems.”

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Cole said her parents were warned that if they did not allow her to transition, she would likely commit suicide. 

“My legal guardians were forced to make this decision under duress,” she shared in a previous statement. “But even if my parents had supported transitioning medically from the start, no parent or any adult, ultimately, has a right to determine whether a child gets to be chemically sterilized or mutilated.”

Cole said she’s suffered numerous complications from her medications and surgery. “My quality of life is still being impacted to this day,” she wrote in her statement.

Her fertility status now remains unknown, she said. She will not be able to breastfeed because her breasts were surgically removed.

“As an adult, I am now grieving, and on top of that, the areolar skin grafts they used in my surgery began to fail two years afterward. I must wear bandages on my chest every day,” Cole wrote. 

“As an adult, I am now grieving.”

In 2023, Cole filed a lawsuit with the Center for American Liberty (CAL) against hospitals for pushing her into what she believes is medical mutilation.

Mark Trammell of CAL told Fox News Digital that Thursday’s HHS announcement “represents a critical acknowledgment that experimental medical interventions on children with gender distress have failed to meet basic standards of safety and effectiveness.”

“It signals that medicine must return to its core ethical obligation: First, do no harm,” Trammell added. 

“We will continue fighting to ensure accountability for the institutions that promoted these practices and to secure justice for the children and detransitioners whose lives were forever altered.”

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In a previous statement provided to Fox News Digital, Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said he is in favor of a “more conservative approach” for minors.

“Long-term effects of puberty blockers may include bone loss, trouble concentrating, interference with learning and interference with fertility,” he said. “I think it makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments, including surgery, that may be difficult to reverse.”

“It makes sense in most cases to treat underlying mental health concerns before jumping into treatments.”

The doctor also emphasized that gender issues should not be overly politicized. “This means not superimposing an ideology or pushing physicians to act in a certain way or under pressure,” Siegel said. 

“The welfare of the child must come first. In this case, it means going very slowly and providing support to a child or teen with gender dysphoria.”

Cole shared that she hopes any children who are questioning whether they should transition wait. 

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“While there are only two sexes, there are a million different ways that you can be yourself,” she added.

“God is there for you. He is the one who has created you this way, and you can seek his counsel,” Cole went on. 

“You can continue praying, and I think ultimately it’s connecting with your family, building your purpose in this world, and looking to the gospel and up to God.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed reporting.

Those at risk of type 2 diabetes may be able to prevent heart problems later.

A new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology discovered that lowering the blood sugar of those with prediabetes could reduce the risk of heart attack by half.

Diabetes researchers and endocrine experts across Europe, China and the U.S. investigated how bringing blood sugar back to normal levels affected the chances of heart problems later in life, based on a 20-year American study and a 30-year Chinese study, according to a press release.

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In both studies, the prediabetic participants were coached to make appropriate lifestyle changes to lower blood sugar (the amount of glucose in the bloodstream) through diet and exercise, also targeting weight loss.

The researchers split the participants into a remission group (where blood sugar returned to normal) and a non-remission group, which included those still in the prediabetes range. They then determined who in these groups had died from heart disease or were hospitalized for heart failure.

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Participants who went into remission had a 58% lower risk of dying from heart disease and being hospitalized for heart failure. This group also had a lower risk of other major heart events and lower overall death rates.

These heart-protective benefits lasted for decades after the program ended, the researchers found.

“Reaching prediabetes remission is linked to a decades-long benefit, halving the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in diverse populations,” the researchers commented in the publication of the study. “Targeting remission might represent a new approach to cardiovascular prevention.”

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In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, study co-author and professor of medicine at the University Hospital Tübingen in Germany, reiterated that reaching prediabetes remission is not only relevant for reducing the progression of type 2 diabetes, but may also be associated with a “meaningful reduction in… heart attack risk, cardiac death and heart failure.” 

“Importantly, this underscores that prediabetes is a modifiable stage where timely, evidence-based interventions (especially lifestyle measures, and in selected cases, medication) can make a real difference,” he added.

The study did have some limitations, including that it is based on analysis of trials not originally designed to measure cardiovascular outcomes, which means the results show association but cannot prove causation.

In addition, unmeasured lifestyle and health factors, population differences and lack of randomization for heart outcomes may have influenced the reduced cardiovascular risk, the researchers acknowledged.

“This underscores that prediabetes is a modifiable stage where timely, evidence-based interventions … can make a real difference.”

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Birkenfeld suggested that those with prediabetes should ask their doctors the following questions: “What is my current status? What is my personal cardiovascular risk? What is my target blood glucose level?”

Patients should also inquire about the frequency of testing for blood sugar and key risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and other related conditions, such as kidney function or sleep apnea, he advised.

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“If lifestyle changes aren’t enough or my risk is high, would medication be appropriate for me — and what are the benefits and downsides?” the researcher asked as an example.

About 98 million American adults, more than one in three, have prediabetes, according to CDC data. Eight in 10 of these adults are unaware that they have the disease.