Breast screening does more good than harm
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A study of 80,000 women has concluded that breast cancer screening does more good than harm, with any over-diagnosis justified by the number of lives saved.
The study by experts from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests screening saves the lives of two women for every one who may have unnecessary treatment.
Mammograms can spot dangerous tumours, but might also detect lumps that are harmless, exposing some women to undue anxiety and even surgery – this has led to a debate among experts about the benefits of breast screening.
More than 45,000 women a year in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 12,000 die from the disease.
Women age 50 to 70 are eligible for breast screening on the NHS every three years, and from 2012 screening in England will be extended from 47 to 73.
The study focused on data from 80,000 women from the age of 50, and estimated that 5.7 breast cancer deaths were prevented for every 1,000 women screened over a 20-year period.
At the same time, 2.3 women per 1,00 were told they had a lump but it was not clear if in need of treatment.
The authors of the study said: “The benefits in terms of numbers of deaths prevented are around double the harm in terms of over-diagnosis.
“Analysis shows a substantial and significant reduction in breast cancer deaths in association with mammographic screening.”
Richard Winder, deputy director of NHS cancer screening programmes, said: There is a risk of over-diagnosis, and possible over-treatment, associated with any screening programme.
“But this latest, independent study shows that the risk of over-diagnosis is very much lower than some other recent estimates have claimed, and that the benefits far outweigh the risks.”
However Jayant Vaidya, a breast cancer surgeon at University College London and the Whittington Hospital, said the study was based on calculations that were opaque.
“Women who go for breast cancer screening need to know that there’s a good chance they could be diagnosed with a cancer which is not harmful and may never have bothered them,” he said.
By Deepika Dudakia
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