Early mammography screening lowers risk of developing fatal breast cancer

Falun [Sweden], May 11 (ANI): An analysis of more than half a million women in Sweden has revealed that mammography screening reduces the rates of advanced and fatal cancer">breast cancers.
The findings of the study have been published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).
For the analysis, Laszlo Tabar, MD, of Falun Central Hospital, Sweden, Stephen Duffy, MSc, of Queen Mary University of London, and their colleagues examined data on nearly one-third of the women in Sweden who were eligible for mammography screening.
Among these 549,091 women, the investigators calculated the rates of advanced cancer">breast cancers and cancers that were fatal within 10 years of diagnosis, comparing the findings in women who participated in recommended mammography screening and those who did not.
The team found a 41 percent reduction in cancers that were fatal within 10 years after diagnosis and a 25 percent reduction in the incidence of advanced cancer">breast cancer in women who participated in screening.
"This study shows that participation in cancer">breast cancer screening substantially reduces the risk of having a fatal cancer">breast cancer," said Dr Duffy.
"Because the comparison of participating with non-participating persons was contemporaneous--with mammography screening and cancer">breast cancer treatment belonging to the same time period--it is not affected by potential changes in treatment of cancer">breast cancer over time," added Dr Duffy.
Dr. Tabar stressed that participating in cancer">breast cancer screening confers a reduced risk of dying from cancer">breast cancer above and beyond what is obtainable with current therapies in the absence of screening.
"Some may believe that recent improvements in cancer">breast cancer treatment makes early detection less important," he said. "Our study shows that nothing can replace finding cancer">breast cancer early," said Dr Tabar. (ANI)