Women “jurors” are asked how to present risk-benefit ratio of breast cancer screening

A “citizens’ jury” of 21 women is meeting in London this week to help draft new leaflets that will be provided to women in England who are invited to attend breast cancer screening.

The jury, made up of women of screening age recruited on the streets of London, will help draft a form of words for the leaflets and invitation letters that reflect the findings of the Marmot review of breast cancer screening, which reported last month.1

The existing leaflets have been criticised as failing to strike the right balance between the risks and benefits of screening. The review, chaired by Michael Marmot, director of University College London’s Institute for Health Equity, found that for every life saved by mammographic screening, three women …