Vital signs: screening: mammography seen ineffective in Europe

An analysis of data from six European countries suggests that mammography had screening has no effect on breast cancer -Mortalität.

Deaths from breast cancer significantly industrialized to countries in most declined, but it is difficult to know how much of the decline due to early detection, treatment or the efficiency of health systems.

Researchers used a natural experiment in three pairs of countries. Some, initiated regular mammography screening much earlier than others, but their health systems and socio-economic levels were nearly identical. The countries that for the comparison were paired in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; the Netherlands and Belgium; and Sweden and Norway.

The study, published in the British medical journal BMJ, found online July 28, that in all three cases, previous implementation of screening had no effect on mortality. For example, in Northern Ireland, screening was introduced in the early 1990s, and 75 percent of the women got 1995, mammography. In the Republic of Ireland screening was introduced until 2000, and it was not until 2008 that showed 76% of the population. From 1989 to 2006, breast cancer mortality were 29.6 percent in Northern Ireland and by 26.7 per cent in Ireland.

"We were surprised and very sad to find that breast cancer screening does not work," said Dr. Philippe Autier, lead author. "We had expected to find the opposite."

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