The randomized trials of breast cancer screening: what have we learned?
Eight randomized controlled trials of mammography screening have been conducted to date. In addition to evaluating the efficacy of screening with an experimental design, the trials provided investigators with access to information about breast cancers much earlier in their development than had previously been available. The trials of mammographic screening provide conclusive evidence that the policy of offering screening is associated with a significant and substantial reduction in breast cancer mortality.
aAmerican Cancer Society, 1599 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
bCancer Research UK, Department of Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, Charterhouse Square, London E1 4NS, UK
cMammography Department, Central Hospital, Falun S-79182, Sweden
dInstitute of Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taiwan
ABSTRACT