Majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer after screening mammograms get unnecessary treatment, study finds : latimes

referring to latimes

Majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer after screening mammograms get unnecessary treatment, study finds

Majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer after screening mammograms get unnecessary treatment, study finds

More than half of breast cancers newly diagnosed in the United States are likely cases of mistaken identity that subject women to needless anxiety, treatment and expense, researchers reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.The study also found that the value of mammograms as a life-saving tool has been significantly overstated.Instead, the introduction of more effective treatments should get most of the credit for improving survival rates among women diagnosed with breast cancer, the researchers concluded.The findings cast fresh doubt on the value of universal breast cancer screening for women over 40 with no family history of the disease.


coupled with cbsnews

New study questions value of mammograms for breast cancer screening

New study questions value of mammograms for breast cancer screening

A new study questions the value of mammograms for breast cancer screening.It concludes that a woman is more likely to be diagnosed with a small tumor that is not destined to grow than she is to have a true problem spotted early.The work could further shift the balance of whether screening's harms outweigh its benefits.Screening is only worthwhile if it finds cancers that would kill, and if treating them early improves survival versus treating when or if they ever cause symptoms.


moreover from dailymail

Have mammograms been oversold? Study claims breast cancer screenings more often detect harmless tumors than real warning signs

Have mammograms been oversold? Study claims breast cancer screenings more often detect harmless tumors than real warning signs

A new study questions the value of mammograms for breast cancer screening.It concludes that a woman is more likely to be diagnosed with a small tumor that is not destined to grow than she is to have a true problem spotted early.The work could further shift the balance of whether screening's harms outweigh its benefits.Screenings tend to overhype small tumors that would never grow, a new study claimsScreening is only worthwhile if it finds cancers that would kill, and if treating them early improves survival versus treating when or if they ever cause symptoms.