Breast Cancer - Screening failed

Screening women for breast cancer failed to significantly reduce the number of deaths from the malignancy, contrary to earlier findings, a Danish study found.

Mortality among women aged 55 to 74 in regions of Denmark that had screening fell 1% a year, while areas without screening saw a 2% decline, researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo wrote.

The results contradict a 2005 Danish study that found screening helped reduce breast-cancer deaths by 25% since 1991. U.S. and U.K. studies support today’s findings. The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force in November recommended women wait until age 50 to start getting mammograms every two years, saying annual tests for most in their 40s have more drawbacks than benefits.

“We believe it is time to question whether screening has delivered the promised effect on breast-cancer mortality,” the researchers wrote. The decrease observed in deaths is “more likely explained by changes in risk factors and improved treatment than by screening mammography.”