Women who have regular mammograms fewer mastectomies than those who do not?
No, the curiously it has been reported that women who have regular mammograms have any greater likelihood of having a mastectomy (removal of the breast) than those who do not. The reason for this cause is not clear. It may be that some women prefer mastectomy to tumorectomie (simple removal of the tumor) even if the cancer is discovered early when it is small. And it may be that mammography discover cancer at the beginning that might never have been diagnosed, and some of them are treated by mastectomy. Finally some cancers detected by mammography are already advanced cancers that require a mastectomy.
References:
Miller, AB. May we agree to disagree, or how do we develop guidelines for breast cancer screening. J Natl Cancer Inst 1994; 86:1729-30.
