Re: Trial to extend breast cancer screening won’t resume randomisation after pandemic
Dear Editor
Although there has been much criticism about the fact that women were not informed they were part of a trial, I believe that this will permit a better interpretation of the results. For instance, women who had participated in the Age trial (annual mammography screening from the age of 40 years) who were in the intervention group tended to abandon screening progressively, whereas women who knew they were in the control group were more likely to respond to invitation for screening at the age of 50 years.
The design of the AgeX trial should allow the observation of mammography-induced cancers (1) in the intervention group as an excess of cancers in women aged 55-60.
1) Corcos D & Bleyer A. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jan 2;382(1):96-98
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Re: Trial to extend breast cancer screening won’t resume randomisation after pandemic
Dear Editor
Although there has been much criticism about the fact that women were not informed they were part of a trial, I believe that this will permit a better interpretation of the results. For instance, women who had participated in the Age trial (annual mammography screening from the age of 40 years) who were in the intervention group tended to abandon screening progressively, whereas women who knew they were in the control group were more likely to respond to invitation for screening at the age of 50 years.
The design of the AgeX trial should allow the observation of mammography-induced cancers (1) in the intervention group as an excess of cancers in women aged 55-60.
1) Corcos D & Bleyer A. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jan 2;382(1):96-98
Competing interests: No competing interests