Screening Mammography Reduces Breast Cancer Deaths

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According to a recent article published in the British Journal of Cancer, screening mammography reduces the rate of advanced stages of breast cancer, as well as the rate of deaths caused by breast cancer.

Breast cancer claims the lives of approximately 40,000 women and is diagnosed in over 200,000 women annually in the United States alone. When diagnosed early, prior to the spread of cancer, breast cancer has a high cure rate. However, once the cancer has spread to distant and/or several sites in the body (advanced stage), cure rates are reduced dramatically. Therefore, regular screening for breast cancer to detect the disease in its earliest stages is imperative to ensure optimal chances for a cure.

This past couples of years has seen a major controversy over the benefit of screening mammograms. However, results from recent clinical studies have indicated that there is indeed a reduction in the risk of deaths caused by breast cancer in women who undergo regular screening with mammography. Some critics may still believe that there is no proven survival benefit from screening mammography and that screening leads to over-diagnosis and an increased number of biopsies and surgeries, while other physicians are proponents of mammography and agree that the screening detects earlier cancers and improves survival. Clinical studies are ongoing in order to determine the definite risks and benefits of screening mammography.

Researchers from the Netherlands evaluated follow-up data from women enrolled in the Dutch breast cancer screening program between 1990 and 1997. Women from 7 different regions in the Netherlands underwent screening mammography and their outcomes were compared to women in the same regions who had not undergone screening prior to 1990. The data included breast cancer incidence, stage of diagnosis, age and region. The data revealed that the incidence of breast cancer increased strongly after 1990, the year after which screening had been implemented. However, the incidence of breast cancer that had increased was mainly early-stage breast cancers, most likely due to the early detection of screening mammography. Conversely, the incidence of advanced breast cancers and death caused by breast cancer was reduced by approximately 12% following the implementation of screening mammography.

The researchers concluded that these results lend further evidence to the fact that screening mammography reduces the deaths caused by breast cancer through early detection. Patients who are 40 years or older, or have a family history of breast cancer, should speak with their physician about their individual scheduling of mammography for the screening of breast cancer.

References:

1. Fracheboud J, Otto S, van Dijck J, et al. Decreased rates of advanced breast cancer due to mammography screening in The Netherlands. British Journal of Cancer. 2004; advance online publication 3 August 2004; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602075.

2. Threlfall A, Collins S, Woodman C. Impact of NHL breast screening on advanced disease and mortality from breast cancer in the North West of England. British Journal of Cancer. 2003;89:77-80.