444
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

The role of screening mammography in the era of modern breast cancer treatment

Pages 204-208 | Received 28 Sep 2017, Accepted 11 Oct 2017, Published online: 17 Jan 2018
 

Abstract

The evidence is reviewed on the efficacy and effectiveness of mammography screening derived from randomized screening trials and from the surveillance of populations where mammography screening for breast cancer has been introduced. Nearly all the trials were performed in the era before modern adjuvant therapy for breast cancer was introduced, apart from the Canadian National Breast Screening Study and the UK Age trial. The former found no benefit from annual mammography screening for 5 years in women age 40–59 years, the latter, a non-significant benefit from screening women by annual mammography for 7 years from ages 39 to 41 years. The evidence from population-based surveillance is mixed, most such studies having failed to consider the benefit gained from improved therapy. It is concluded that we have reached the point of negligible benefit from mammography screening for breast cancer in women at average risk, and that we should concentrate on early diagnosis of breast cancer and the application of modern therapy according to clearly defined sub-types of breast cancer.

Conflict of interest

The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

Source of funding

Nil.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 277.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.