Routine Mammography May Lead to Overdiagnosis: Study

Up to 25% of mammogram-detected breast cancers may not need treatment, researchers say

April 2, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Byrne's advice to 40-plus women? "Don't stop getting yearly mammograms."

Judith Malmgren, affiliated professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine in Seattle, also objected to the authors' conclusions.

"I don't like the term overdiagnosis," Malmgren said. "A clinician would be hard-pressed to call a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer overdiagnosis."

Malmgren also finds the study methods flawed. For instance, she said, comparing screened and unscreened women would have been better than conducting a county to county comparison.

More information

To learn more about mammograms, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.