The debate over mammograms
When Mette Kalager published the results of her study of routine mammography screening in two Norwegian counties in September, controversy erupted. The study indicated that such screening in women ages 50 to 69 every other year had a much smaller impact on breast cancer mortality than commonly thought. The decline due to screening was somewhere between 2 and 10 percent, much less than the 15 to 25 percent mortality reduction estimated in the United States. If correct, the study calls into question the benefit of a routine medical service provided to millions of women around the world, at a cost of not just health care dollars but also false positives that require re-testing, and overdiagnosis, for which women actually undergo some type of treatment. Kalager and other authorities in the field gathered at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Tuesday afternoon (March 8) to debate the benefits of what one New England...
