BMJ  2005;331:309 (6 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7512.309

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Breast cancer screening does not save lives, study says

Janice Hopkins Tanne

New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Breast cancer screening in "real world" situations is not effective in preventing mortality, says a US case control study. The study, one of the largest completed to date looking at the effectiveness of breast cancer screening, was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute ( 2005;97: 1035-43)[Abstract/Free Full Text].

Randomised controlled studies have shown that breast cancer screening prevents deaths. Many organisations recommend screening by clinical examination and mammography every year or two for women aged 40 or older.

"We observed no appreciable association between breast cancer mortality and screening history, [regardless of age or risk level]," the authors write. "Our findings may, therefore, reflect a possible reduction in the accuracy of screening as it moves from highly controlled randomised trials to real-life clinical practice."

The study, led by Joann Elmore, professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, looked at . . . [Full text of this article]


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