Mammography: No Major Drop in Breast Cancer Deaths

Sometimes the findings of clinical trials are not borne out in the real world practice of medicine. This has recently happened with medicines sacred cow, mammography screening. A new Swedish study found that the breast cancer death rate dropped only 1% between 1989 and 1996, despite regular mammography screening of 600,000 women ages 50 to 69 years. This is a shocking disappointment on several levels. An accumulated 25-30% mortality reduction would be expected in this time period, according to the previously published findings from eight randomized, controlled clinical trials. Until now, there had been no question that this age group benefits from mammography screening (though an ongoing debate exists over its value to women in their forties). Furthermore, Sweden leads the world in perfecting mammography techniques. It also has a sophisticated medical care system that grants universal access.

The 600,000 Swedish women in this study had been screened every other year, according to the 1985 guidelines set by the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare. Goeran Sjoenell of the World Organization of Family Doctors and Lars Stahle of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that 670 of these women died of breast cancer in 1989, while 662 died of breast cancer in 1996. Their results were published last month in Swedens medical journal Laekaren Tidningen and were reported beforehand in The Wall Street Journal.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Center for Medical Consumers, Inc.
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