Annual mammography in women in their 40s does not cut death rate

Women in their 40s who received annual mammography screening did not have a better survival rate from breast cancer than those who received usual care from their personal physician after an average 13 year follow up, says a report on the Canadian national breast screening study of more than 50000 volunteers (Annals of Internal Medicine 2002;137:305-12).

Authors of the study say it is the only trial to date with published results that has focused on women aged 40-49 years.

Dr Cornelia Baines, professor in the public health sciences department at the University of Toronto and a coauthor, said: “The data from this research are quite striking and quite clear. The difference between annual screening compared to the …