Health P.E.I. says it will not change its breast cancer screening program, despite a new recommendation that women aged 40 to 49 should not be routinely screened for breast cancer.

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care says in its new guidelines there is no significant benefit from screening women of average risk in that age group, and that there's potential harm in over-diagnosis and unnecessary biopsies.

They say women between the ages of 50 and 74 should get screened every two or three years.

The recommendations have the support of some cancer groups, but not the Canadian Breast Cancer Network.

"The reality is, unfortunately, when it is discovered in that age group, it's usually pretty aggressive," said Judy Donovan Whitty, who is the Charlottetown representative for the network.

Whitty said in women aged 45 and under, breast cancer is often aggressive, unpredictable and fast growing, and she wouldn't like to see that group give up screening.

"Our P.E.I. Breast Cancer support group, our belief is that the reason we're alive is because we participated in a screening program," she said.

"We would not want to see that stop."

The authors of the study recommending against screening estimated that screening 2,100 women every two to three years for about 11 years would prevent one death from breast cancer.

On the other hand, it would also result in 690 women having false positives that would lead to unnecessary follow up testing, including approximately 75 women having an unnecessary breast biopsy.

"A lot of the evidence is around how many lives are saved," said Lori Barker, the executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society's P.E.I. division.

"Having the mammography and that screening done prior to [age] 49, the evidence just doesn't show that the impact is there."

According to Health P.E.I., 113 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the province last year. Among those patients, 15 were between the ages of 40 and 49, and the remaining 98 were between the ages of 50 and 74.

Donovan Whitty said she's happy the province won't be changing its approach and will continue to offer mammograms to women starting at age 40.

"I think, at least, get to know our bodies before that, to be very familiar with your body. So that if you're listening to your body, if something changes, you'll recognize that," she said.