PJ Online | News: Breast cancer screening does reduce mortality, WHO says

Home > PJ > News / Daily News | Search

The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7190 p385-391
23 March 2002

Related websites
The Lancet (www.thelancet.com)

Breast cancer screening does reduce mortality, WHO says

Screening for breast cancer using mammography does reduce mortality, experts have concluded.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, said on 19 March that trials provide sufficient evidence for the efficacy of mammography screening in women aged between 50 and 69 years. The reduction in mortality from breast cancer among women who chose to participate in screening programmes was estimated to be 35 per cent. However, there was only limited evidence for a beneficial effect in women aged between 40 and 49 years.

Swedish screening suppport A new study provides evidence to support the use of mammography screening . Swedish researchers report data from four randomised trials and conclude that screening reduces breast cancer mortality by 21 per cent. (Lancet 2002;359:909).