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Mammograms May Lead to Overtreatment: Study

But screening can't determine danger; many treated unnecessarily

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 10, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – One-third of breast cancers that show up on mammograms may be essentially harmless, meaning that treating every tumor causes unnecessary trauma, a five-nation study suggests. A mammogram doesn't reveal whether a cancer is lethal or harmless, so all get treated when some could be merely monitored, the BBC reports. The finding means "that screening for cancer, in this case breast cancer, is a much closer call than has been previously advertised," writes a Dartmouth researcher.

"It has the opportunity to help some women but it also has the consequence of leading others to be treated needlessly for cancer and that's not a trivial thing," he argues in the British Medical Journal. The five nations in the study were Australia, Britain, Canada, Norway, and Sweden.

A third of breast cancers are actually harmless, a study finds.
A third of breast cancers are actually harmless, a study finds.   (Shutterstock)
Screenings can't tell if a breast cancer is harmless or dangerous.
Screenings can't tell if a breast cancer is harmless or dangerous.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
oldgoat
Jul 11, 2009 11:03 AM CDT
So I guess that we are suppose to just wait and see in 6 months or a year to see if it looks worse then? My wife has 3 sisters that have had breast cancer and two aunts that died from cancer. I have a niece that is only 36 that after her first mamogram found that she already had breast cancer and is in treatment now.
paul123
Jul 10, 2009 3:31 AM CDT
My sister, recently had a lesion removed that was nothing more than a gland. I assure you she is happy that the doctors erred on the side of caution

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