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The whole idea behind cancer screening is that doctors will find the disease earlier — even before symptoms appear — and therefore be more likely to successfully treat it and control any spread.
But as the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, shows, the introduction of mass mammography screening has failed to reduce the rate of advanced-stage breast cancers in women.
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This isn’t the first time researchers have questioned the utility of population-wide mammography. Some medical associations and cancer societies have pushed back the initiation of mass screening, from about 40 years to 45 or 50 years. These general guidelines don’t apply to women who have a family history of the disease, or lifestyle factors and genetic markers that put them at a higher risk.
Read full, original post: How mass breast cancer screening failed to diagnose serious cases, in one chart
