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SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER: THE ROLE OF MAMMOGRAPHY
Author(s) -
Christie David
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1977.tb114570.x
Subject(s) - mammography , medicine , breast cancer , breast cancer screening , physical examination , breast examination , gynecology , family medicine , cancer , cancer screening , screening mammography , medical physics , surgery
The early diagnosis of breast cancer by screening is a relatively new development in medical practice and its enthusiastic acceptance needs to be tempered by an appraisal of the costs, the risks and the potential benefits. No case can be made at present for screening well women under the age of 50 years, when such screening includes mammography. With the exception of women who have already had cancer in one breast, it is likely that those women under 50 with the associated “risk factors” are better managed by careful attention to breast self‐examination and more frequent physical examinations. Provided that the radiation dose is less than one rad per examination, the benefits to women over 50 outweigh the risks of radiation‐induced breast cancer. Against this must be placed the very large cost to the community of screening programmes and the relatively low additional benefits gained by incorporation of mammography into the screening process.