Mammography screening for breast cancer needs individualized approach

The mammography dilemma — Complex benefits and harms of mammography require individualized approach – A comprehensive review of 50 year’s worth of international studies assessing the benefits and harms of mammography screening suggests that the benefits of the screening are often overestimated, while harms are underestimated.

Biennial screening mammography for woman ages 50 to 74 years

Study examines outcomes of screening mammography for age, breast density, hormone therapy – Woman ages 50 to 74 years who undergo biennial screenings have a similar risk of advanced-stage disease and a lower cumulative risk of false-positive results than those who get mammograms annually, according to a study that compared the benefits and harms of the frequency of screening mammography to age, breast density and postmenopausal use of hormone therapy (HT).

Breast cancer charity Komen overstated screening benefits

Breast cancer charity under fire for overstating the benefits of screening — Experts challenge ‘pink ribbon’ creator for misusing statistics to generate false hope – Professors Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin of the Center for Medicine and the Media at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice argue that last year’s breast cancer awareness month campaign by Susan G Komen for the Cure “overstates the benefit of mammography and ignores harms altogether.”

New technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound

New screening technique could provide more reliable breast cancer detection — Initial tests show promising results of new ultrasonic screening technique – Scientists have successfully completed an initial trial of a new, potentially more reliable, technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound. The team at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Measurement Institute, working with the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, are now looking to develop the technique into a clinical device.

Increasing daily calcium will not reduce fracture risk in later life

Increasing daily calcium will not reduce the risk of fractures in later life — Dietary calcium intake and risk of fracture and osteoporosis: prospective longitudinal cohort study – While moderate amounts of calcium (around 700 mg a day) are vital for maintaining healthy bones, there is no need to start increasing calcium intake in order to reduce the risk of fractures or osteoporosis in later life, finds a paper published in bmj.

Coffee drinking lowers stroke risk in women

Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women — American Heart Association rapid access journal report – Drinking more than a cup of coffee a day was associated with a 22 percent to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with those who drank less, in a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

HIV screening cost effective in reducing spread of AIDS

Expansion of HIV screening cost-effective in reducing spread of AIDS, Stanford study shows – An expanded U.S. program of HIV screening and treatment could prevent as many as 212,000 new infections over the next 20 years and prove to be very cost-effective, according to a new study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

Health Newstrack