There have been some studies which called mammograms into question, the primary point being the number of false positives which tests may produce.

However, the consensus is that mammograms work.

The work below was discussed in a telephone briefing, Reuters says.

Reuters

“Women who never got mammograms are far more likely to die of breast cancer than women who are regularly screened, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

“They said 75 percent of the women they studied who died of breast cancer had never had a mammogram, or were diagnosed after their very first mammogram. Only 25 percent of the women they studied who died of breast cancer had received more than one mammogram.

“Women who are in screening programs have only a 4.7 percent mortality. Women who are not screened have a 56 percent mortality,” added Cady, who will present his findings later this week to a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.”

Source: Reuters, October 7, 2009