Early screening ‘can cut the risk of breast cancer death by more than 40 per cent’
EARLY screening can cut the risk of breast cancer death by more than 40 per cent, a study says.
It could also reduce risk of the advanced disease by a quarter.
Experts calculated both rates in 549,091 Swedish women within ten years of diagnosis.
They compared them in those who did and did not take a recommended mammogram.
One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime in the UK and the risk of getting the illness increases with age.
In the UK women between the ages of 50 and 71 are invited to take a mammogram every three years. The process used by specialists helps spot tumours at the early stages when they are too small to see or to feel.
What is breast cancer and what do you need to look out for?
Breast cancer is the name given to any cancers that have first developed in the breast tissue – there are many different types.
While it is more common in older women, it does affect the younger generation and men too.
For most women, the first sign or symptom of breast cancer is a lump or area of thickened tissue in their breast.
However, while the majority of women know to feel for unusual lumps and bumps, there are also other, less understood signs and symptoms.
These are different from patient to patient and if you have concerns you should visit your GP.
What do you need to look out for?
- Change in breast size or shape
- Redness or a rash
- Nipple discharge
- Swelling in the arm pit or around the collar bone
- Change in skin texture
- An inverted nipple
- Constant pain
The NHS is also now trialling the test in younger and older women, a strategy that is hoped will prevent breast cancer deaths across the country.
This is while in Sweden women are invited to take the mammogram test from the ages of 40 to 69 depending on the region they are based in.
The new study highlighted the importance of taking the tests in order to improve survival.
Dr Stephen Duffy, from London’s Queen Mary University, said: “Participation in screening substantially reduces the risk of fatal breast cancer.”
Researchers on the study said they found a 41 per cent reduction in fatal cancers from women who took up the recommended three year checks.
This is while they also found that there was a 25 per cent reduction in advanced breast cancer in women who had themselves suggested they have the X-rays.
The research, that was published in journal Cancer, with the authors concluding that the screening did in fact save lives.
MAMMOGRAMS "SAVE LIVES"
"Our evaluation of outcomes demonstrated that women who attended screening, and typically had their breast cancer diagnosed at an earlier stage, benefited substantially more from the state-of-the-art therapy existing at the time of diagnosis and over the period of our analysis compared with women who did not attend screening.
"Detection at an earlier stage through participation in mammography screening confers a significant reduction in the risk of death from breast cancer in this era when modern... therapies are available. The benefits of participating in mammography screening are truly substantial and save lives through early detection, lives that otherwise would have been lost."
Dr László Tabár from Falun Central Hospital stresses early breast cancer screening reduces the risk of dying from the disease "above and beyond" current therapies in the absence of screening.
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He added: "Some may believe that recent improvements in breast cancer treatment makes early detection less important.
"Our study shows that nothing can replace finding breast cancer early."
With over 50,000 cases each year, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease in UK women.
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