Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography Screening
Authors: Ragnhild Sørum Falk, Solveig Hofvind, Per Skaane
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2012)

Letters7 August 2012Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography ScreeningRagnhild Sørum Falk, MSc, Solveig Hofvind, PhD, and Per Skaane, MD, PhDRagnhild Sørum Falk, MScFrom Cancer Registry of Norway, N-0304 Oslo, Norway; and Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, N-0407 Oslo, Norway.Search for more papers by this author, Solveig Hofvind, PhDFrom Cancer Registry of Norway, N-0304 Oslo, Norway; and Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, N-0407 Oslo, Norway.Search for more papers by this author, and Per Skaane, MD, PhDFrom Cancer Registry of Norway, N-0304 Oslo, Norway; and Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, N-0407 Oslo, Norway.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-3-201208070-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Kalager and colleagues (1) use data from the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program, Cancer Registry of Norway, and Statistics Norway for quantification of overdiagnosis due to mammography screening. We had the following concerns about some of the data that were reported in the Results section.First, the authors stated that approximately 500 000 women had been invited to the program at the end of 2005. The correct number is 592 155.Second, we believe that the absolute numbers of overdiagnosed cases were estimated incorrectly. Using the range reported by Kalager and colleagues (15% to 25%) and the 7793 observed ...References1. Kalager M, Adami HO, Bretthauer M, Tamimi RM. Overdiagnosis of invasive breast cancer due to mammography screening: results from the Norwegian screening program. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:491-9. [PMID: 22473436] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Statistics Norway. StatBank Norway. Table 05839. Accessed at http://statbank.ssb.no/statistikkbanken/Default_FR.asp?PXSid=0&nvl=true&PLanguage=0&tilside=selectvarval/define.asp&Tabellid=05839 on 20 April 2012. Google Scholar3. Kalager M, Zelen M, Langmark F, Adami HO. Effect of screening mammography on breast-cancer mortality in Norway. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:1203-10. [PMID: 20860502] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Cancer Registry of Norway, N-0304 Oslo, Norway; and Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, N-0407 Oslo, Norway.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoOverdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer Due to Mammography Screening: Results From the Norwegian Screening Program Mette Kalager , Hans-Olov Adami , Michael Bretthauer , and Rulla M. Tamimi Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography Screening Karsten J. Jørgensen Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography Screening Tor Haldorsen , Steinar Tretli , and Giske Ursin Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography Screening Per-Henrik Zahl Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer due to Mammography Screening Mette Kalager , Hans-Olov Adami , Michael Bretthauer , and Rulla M. Tamimi Metrics 7 August 2012Volume 157, Issue 3Page: 219KeywordsBreast cancerBreast cancer screeningCancer screeningConflicts of interestMammographyPopulation statisticsResearch designStatistical data ePublished: 7 August 2012 Issue Published: 7 August 2012 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2012 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...