Effectiveness of mammography screening for women aged 40–49

Abstract

The aim of the work was to review randomized controlled trials regarding the efficacy of screening mammography in women aged 40–49 years.Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched for English-language publications for randomized controlled trials. Inclusion criteria were studies evaluating the possible benefit/harm of mammographic screening in women 40–49 years old, a follow-up period of at least 10 years, primary breast cancer, regarding as primary outcomes reduction of breast cancer mortality, and side effects screening mammography.A search for the specified keywords found 2453 sources in electronic databases, of which only 83 studies were published as articles. After analyzing these studies, only 5 studies met the inclusion criteria. An analysis of these studies according to the inclusion criteria is subsequently presented in the article.Based on the available data from randomized trials, no definitive conclusion about the effectiveness of mammographic screening in women 40–49 years of age can yet be drawn. Therefore, it is too early to draw a line in the debate about the appropriateness of mammography in the 40–49 age group.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• mammographic screening
• women 40–49 years old
• effectiveness of screening
• harms of screening