Research reinforces screening necessity
Breast screening saves lives. Photo: Getty Images
BREAST cancer screening saves the lives of two women for every one that receives potentially unnecessary treatment, research out today suggests.
Some cancers grow so slowly that a woman may die from another disease first while other cancers would cause no harm.
Experts are currently unable to distinguish between these less harmful cancers and some more aggressive types.
Now new research has found that for every case of overdiagnosis, two lives are saved as a result of the British NHS breast cancer screening programme.
The issue has been the subject of debate recently after other studies suggested such programmes do little to save lives. Last week, Danish experts cast doubt on the benefits of mammography.
The latest research was led by experts from the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
It focused on data from 80,000 women from the age of 50, looking at Sweden and England before and after the introduction of screening.
- Jane Kirby in London
Irish Independent
