Reply: Effect of populationbased screening on breast cancer mortality

摘要

I was very cross to learn that the Nordic Cochrane Centre has been credited with orchestrating a campaign against breast cancer screening.1 I claim the distinction of first to recognise the false promises of the UK's Breast Screening Programme. I was the first to note that women were not being offered true informed choice when summoned to attend for fear of missing the 70% uptake target.The Nordic Cochrane Centre was a "Johnny come lately" in my ensemble, although they provided compelling evidence in support of my concerns.3 Just when I thought the bandwagon had moved on, another group jumped aboard. In November, 2011, new guidelines on breast cancer screening were released by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care,4 which mentioned en passant that the overall risk of mastectomy is significantly increased in recipients of screening.