Study: Mammography Significantly Cuts Risk of Breast Cancer Death

A new Swedish study reported in the journal Cancer weighs in on the value of mammography by suggesting that the screening procedure significantly reduces the risk of death from breast cancer.

The latest study, published in the journal Cancer, analyzed data on women between the ages of 40 and 69 living in seven Swedish counties, and and breast cancer rates were compared for the period

In the new study, breast cancer death rates were compared from before and after mammograms became available.

After the use of mammography began, the death rate from breast cancer in counties that had used the screening for ten or more years dropped 44 percent.

Organized screening, which covers approximately 33 percent of the population of Sweden, resulted in a 40 to 45 percent reduction in breast cancer deaths among women actually screened, according to the study.

"The results of the current study indicate that the majority of the breast carcinoma mortality reduction is indeed due to the screening," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Cancer