Screening debate

Current evidence suggests that by detecting cancer early, regular mammograms reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer by about 1,300 each year. However, occasionally it does not detect a cancer (a false negative result), and it can also detect an abnormality that is not due to breast cancer (a false positive). Breast screening also detects cancers that won’t ever cause any problems. A review carried out in 2012 suggested that for every life saved, three women are overdiagnosed with breast cancer.

Women under 40 who are at high risk should be offered yearly MRI scans of their breasts, starting from the age of 30 onwards. W&H