Volume 177 - Issue 6
Screening mammography and mortality
Med J Aust 2002; 177 (6): 333-333. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04800.x
Published online: 16 September 2002
Published online: 16 September 2002
In reply: I agree with Gough and welcome the more recent data showing up to an 18.75% reduction in breast cancer mortality in Australia in the 10 years from 1989.
Obviously, this cannot be attributed solely to the now 10-year-old National Mammographic Screening Program, but it may result from a combination of the screening program, ad-hoc screening before the program, and the more rigorous use of adjuvant therapies based on the results of clinical trials. That breast screening is unlikely to have an impact on overall population mortality gives the lie to the conclusions of Olsen and Gøtzsche's overview,1 which are based only on overall mortality.
Nevertheless, Gough and I agree that screening mammography is likely to deliver other benefits through detection of earlier-stage disease and a reduction in deaths from breast cancer.
References
- Olsen O, Gøtzsche PC. Screening for breast cancer with mammography. In: Cochrane Library, issue 4. Oxford: Update Software, October 2001. BABEJHCG
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