Regular mammographic screening for breast cancer saves the lives of two women for every one who is given unnecessary treatment, scientists said on Wednesday, in a study which adds to a global row over screening programs.
The British researchers said their work, which contradicts some recent studies on screening programs but confirms others, showed the benefits outweigh the harm screening can cause by picking up tumors that would not have presented a problem.
"Unfortunately, we haven't yet got a flawless screening test, and some cases that are picked up wouldn't have needed treatment," said Stephen Duffy of Queen Mary, University of London, who led the study.
"But for every case like this, screening saves two women who would have otherwise died from breast cancer," he said.
Duffy's findings contradict the results of a Nordic study published last week which found no evidence that routinely screening women for breast cancer had any effect on death rates.
The findings will also further fan a row which erupted in the United States in last November after public health officials on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force questioned whether annual screening mammograms for women under 40 actually saved lives and suggested raising the screening age to 50.
Cancer doctors and advocacy groups decried the move, saying the changes would mean more women die of breast cancer.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
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