For women aged 25 to 39, how often should a clinical breast exam be performed?

• A. Every 1–3 years
• B. Annually
• C. Every 5 years
• D. Only if symptoms

Answer: (A)

For women in their 20s and 30s, a clinical breast exam is typically done at intervals of 1 to 3 years because the immediate risk of cancer is relatively low in this age group, and the aim is to balance early detection with avoiding unnecessary testing and anxiety from very frequent exams. Therefore, the most appropriate frequency is every 1–3 years. Doing it annually would be more frequent than usually needed for this age range and isn’t shown to provide a clear added benefit. Waiting 5 years could miss early changes, and waiting until symptoms appear defeats the purpose of routine screening activity.