Screening for breast cancer can reduce the need for mastectomy, according to a report published in the British Medical Journal.

The study of 60,000 women found the rates of breast removal surgery fell by almost half following the introduction of a screening program. Researchers believe screening detects cancer early, so women can be treated with minor surgery that conserves the breast rather than radical surgery that results in its removal.

"Some scientists believe screening programs could be harmful to women by increasing the rates of aggressive treatments such as mastectomy. But this study shows that screening actually reduces the need for major surgery by detecting the disease before it spreads," said study author Dr. Stephen Duffy, from Cancer Research UK in London.

"When breast cancer is caught early, women can be treated with less invasive surgery such as lumpectomy, where only the tumor and a section around it is removed from the breast."

Researchers analyzed data from women in Florence, Italy, aged 50-69 years, who were invited for screening between 1990 and 1996 and to subsequent screens at two-year intervals.

They found that the rates of mastectomies declined by 40 percent following the introduction of the screening program while the rates of breast conserving surgery increased by about 50 percent over the same period.

The decline in mastectomies was paralleled by a drop in the number of late stage tumors detected, while the increase in breast conserving surgery was matched by a rise in the number of early tumors detected during screening.

"The statistics show that minor operations are replacing radical surgery in the treatment of breast cancer as a direct result of screening," said Duffy.

SOURCES:
British Medical Journal, August 24, 2002
Cancer Research UK (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org)