Breast screenings labeled bad idea

A 17-year study has concluded that screening mammography -- in which all women in certain age groups are routinely screened for breast cancer -- does not reduce the incidence of advanced tumors but does increase the diagnosis of lesions that would never have led to health problems.

In Denmark, screening was implemented in different regions at different times, so researchers there were able to compare groups of women who were screened with those who were not.

If screening were effective, a reduction in the incidence of advanced tumors would be expected -- tumors would be caught and treated when small. Instead, the researchers found no difference in incidence between screened and unscreened groups. But in screened groups, they found substantial overdiagnosis.

The study, in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that, depending on age and other factors, between one-fifth and one-third of tumors detected by screening were overdiagnosed. The researchers concluded that screening does not prevent advanced cancers or lower breast cancer mortality.

"Some types of screening are a good idea -- colorectal, for example," said lead author Dr. Karsten Juhl Jorgensen, deputy director of the Nordic Cochrane Center. "But breast cancer has a biology that doesn't lend itself to screening. ... We're really doing more harm than good."

ActiveStyle on 01/23/2017

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