Thursday, 13 September 2012

Lives saved by breast cancer screening

Lives saved by breast cancer screening outnumber cases of overdiagnosis.  BMJ 2012; 345: e6155.

Hawkes, N.

http://www.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/602388/field_highwire_article_pdf/0/bmj.e6155.full.pdf


A Europe-wide review of breast cancer screening has concluded that the benefits in lives saved outweigh the risks of overdiagnosis. The analysis, carried out by a working group from nine European countries, showed that for every 1000 women between the ages of 50 and 69 who are screened, between seven and nine lives are saved and four women are “overdiagnosed.”