While mammograms are still the primary method used for detecting breast cancer, they may be outdated. Some evidence shows that mammograms cause overdiagnosis of breast cancer in women with benign tumors, leading to unneeded biopsies and exposing women to drugs and radiation that harm their health. While mammograms are quite useful in detection early-stage breast cancer, they have done very little to reduce the number of deaths.
As many as 1.3 million women have been overdiagnosed with breast cancer over the past 30 years due to faulty mammogram screening. These women received treatment for cancers that would never have harmed them, but the treatment itself leaved them at a worse health state than they were at before.
Dr. Archie Bleyer of the Oregon Health and Science University said “Overdiagnois of breast cancer is a greater problem in the U.S. than is generally appreciated. I was surprised by the magnitude of the problem.”
Women are recommended to begin receiving mammograms every 2 years after age 50. The reasoning is that mammograms may have more harm than benefits for younger women, due to radiation and unneeded biopsies. However, women over 50 have compromised their health to treat benign cancers due to mammogram false-positive results.
The rate of early breast cancer in women over 40 doubled between 1976 and 2008, which correlates to when routine mammogram screenings became widely adopted. Advanced breast cancer cases among this group of women declined only slightly.
A study by the National Institute of Health showed that mammograms have only a small effect in preventing the progression to late-stage disease. Dr. Rachel Ballard-Barbash of the National Cancer Institute said “This analysis suggests that the effect of mammography screening on declines in late stage breast cancer and mortality is modest.”
The next step is to inform women and care providers of the harms and benefits of mammograms, including diagnosis. It is important to know all options for screening before going straight for a mammogram. There have been several advances in treatments over the past decade that have more substantial effects on survival than mammograms.
This study was published on Thursday, November 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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