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According to experts, women who go for breast cancer screening will have a 40 percent reduced risk of dying from a disease.
The new findings will hopefully end the controversy over the need of mammograms.
The International Agency for Cancer Research, or IARC, has weighted in the benefits of breast cancer screening that has divided the scientific community for years.
According to the reports, some scientist believe that the mammograms are not necessary, and they consider that the process does more harm by identifying small cancers, which then gets treated with chemotherapy, that had never been considered a real threat.
Stephan Duffy, a professor in London’s Queen May University and a member of the IARC expert panel, the new analysis should reassure women that breast cancer screening can save lives and he said, “This important analysis will hopefully reassure women around the world that breast screening with mammography saves lives.”
Duffy says, “The evidence proves breast screening is a vital tool in increasing early diagnosis of breast cancer and therefore reducing the number of deaths.”
Researchers noted that women from ages 59 to 69 who underwent mammography screening had 40 percent less chances of surrendering to disease compare to those who did not.
The study was performed by experts hailing from 16 different countries, who analyzed various breast cancer detection methods from 40 observational studies and 11 controlled clinical trials.
The report stated that there is insufficient evidence to prove the effectiveness of screening among younger women between 40 and 49 years old.
The study also mentioned how several previous studies suggested that screening can save lives of older people, aged 70 to 74.
The study concluded that mammography through the use of X-rays can be beneficial in detection of breast cancer.
Duffy said, “Despite evidence that mammography screening is effective, we still need to carry out further research on alternative screening methods, such as the promising digital breast tomosynthesis.”
The report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
