BMJ  2006;332:728 (25 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7543.728-a

Letter

Ramifications of screening for breast cancer

More debate and better information still needed

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

EDITOR—Rather than end the debate about screening, as Dixon's editorial suggests,¹ and look to the future, it would be preferable to raise the current level of debate by presenting balanced arguments, avoid misleading presentation of statistics, and consider current evidence about over-treatment² and poor quality information.³ Efforts may have been made, as Dixon says, to provide women with sufficient information to make an informed choice, but they have not been successful: the quality still falls far short. The criticism made in 2003 is still valid.⁴

Barratt et al have since devised a model of outcomes of mammographic screening showing estimates of benefits and harms that is readily usable by women considering breast screening.⁵ They advise that comprehensive information about cancer screening, in line with recommendations from the General Medical Council, should be balanced (describing benefits and harms over a similar time frame, such as 10 years) and that . . . [Full text of this article]

Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester "Saionara," Rowhedge, Colchester CO5 7EA hazelcagct@keme.co.uk

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