Estimating Net Benefits and Harms of Screening Mammography in Women Age 40 to 49 Years
Authors: Benjamin Djulbegovic, Iztok Hozo, Gary H. Lyman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters18 December 2007Estimating Net Benefits and Harms of Screening Mammography in Women Age 40 to 49 YearsBenjamin Djulbegovic, MD, PhD, Iztok Hozo, PhD, and Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPHBenjamin Djulbegovic, MD, PhDFrom H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612.Search for more papers by this author, Iztok Hozo, PhDFrom H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612.Search for more papers by this author, and Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPHFrom H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-12-200712180-00010 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In the updated systematic review on the effects of screening mammography in women age 40 to 49 years, Armstrong and colleagues (1) used relative effect measures to express the most important benefits of screening mammography, while expressing the most important harms of screening mammography in terms of absolute effect measures. Notably, they estimated that screening mammography is associated with relative risk reduction in breast cancer mortality of 7% to 23%, whereas 30 to 200 women age 40 to 49 years will die after annual screening mammography as a result of radiation-induced breast cancer (1). It would be ...References1. Armstrong K, Moye E, Williams S, Berlin JA, Reynolds EE. Screening mammography in women 40 to 49 years of age: a systematic review for the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:516-26. [PMID: 17404354] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Qaseem A, Snow V, Sherif K, Aronson M, Weiss KB, Owens DK, et al. Screening mammography for women 40 to 49 years of age: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:511-5. [PMID: 17404353] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Djulbegovic B, Lyman GH. Screening mammography at 40-49 years: regret or no regret? Lancet. 2006;368:2035-7. [PMID: 17161713] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Djulbegovic B, Hozo I, Lyman GH. Linking evidence-based medicine therapeutic summary measures to clinical decision analysis. MedGenMed. 2000;2:6. [PMID: 11104452] MedlineGoogle Scholar5. Moss SM, Cuckle H, Evans A, Johns L, Waller M, Bobrow L, et al. Effect of mammographic screening from age 40 years on breast cancer mortality at 10 years' follow-up: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2006;368:2053-60. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoScreening Mammography in Women 40 to 49 Years of Age: A Systematic Review for the American College of Physicians Katrina Armstrong , Elizabeth Moye , Sankey Williams , Jesse A. Berlin , and Eileen E. Reynolds Screening Mammography for Women 40 to 49 Years of Age: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians Amir Qaseem , Vincenza Snow , Katherine Sherif , Mark Aronson , Kevin B. Weiss , Douglas K. Owens , and Metrics Cited ByBreast Cancer Screening: Science, Society and Common Sense 18 December 2007Volume 147, Issue 12Page: 882KeywordsBreast cancerBreast cancer screeningCancer screeningConflicts of interestDecision makingExerciseMammographySystematic reviews ePublished: 18 December 2007 Issue Published: 18 December 2007 CopyrightCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...