BreastScreen SA’s decision to notify women of their breast density after routine mammography is “premature” and not supported by “robust evidence”, says a leading cancer researcher.

This week, SA became the second state to adopt widespread breast density reporting after a six-month study found that more than 90% of women wanted to be notified as part of breast cancer screening whereas 2% did not.

But University of Sydney researcher Dr Brooke Nickel (PhD) told AusDoc that the new policy was based on “limited” cross-sectional survey data.

“I do feel like that SA announcement was a bit premature in terms of the evidence,” said Dr Nickel, whose research focuses on the psychosocial impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment.