Top Scientist Urges Earlier Breast Cancer Screening, Cites Missed Diagnoses
Renowned physician-scientist Dr. Steven Quay, MD, PhD, has presented a series of directives to the United States Preventive Services Task…
Renowned physician-scientist Dr. Steven Quay, MD, PhD, has presented a series of directives to the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in the wake of their draft report on breast cancer screening. The public could comment on these draft recommendations released on May 9, 2023.
The USPSTF has suggested that mammograms should be initiated at 40 years old, reverting to its pre-2009 guideline. The 2009 decision to push the recommended age to 50 stirred significant controversy among medical professionals.
Dr. Quay, a respected authority in breast cancer research for over a decade, has 71 patents and patent applications associated with his work. “I am gratified that the USPSTF has realigned their recommendation with years of research data and reverted to the 40-year age mark, acknowledging the value of early screening,” remarked Dr. Quay, MD, Ph.D., President and CEO of Atossa Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm focusing on breast cancer.
However, he expressed concern for the women in their forties who might have been neglected over the past 14 years. “The 2009 shift in recommendation from age 40 to 50 might have resulted in thousands of missed early breast cancer diagnoses. This has disproportionately affected women lacking access to quality healthcare, including women of color,” he added.
Dr. Quay’s work has significantly influenced the field of medicine, with over 390 published contributions and citations exceeding 11,500. This places him in the top 1% of scientists globally. He holds 88 US patents and has invented seven FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, benefiting over 80 million people worldwide.
As the CEO of Atossa Therapeutics Inc., Dr. Quay is driving the development of novel oncology therapeutics, including his patented Z-endoxifen for breast cancer treatment.
His educational journey includes an MD and Ph.D. from The University of Michigan, a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT under Nobel Laureate H. Gobind Khorana, and a residency at Harvard-MGH Hospital. He also spent nearly a decade on Stanford University School of Medicine’s faculty. His TEDx talk on breast cancer prevention has been watched over 220,000 times.
For more information, please visit www.DrQuay.com.
