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Breast cancer disappearing act
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The symbol for Breast Cancer awareness
(photo: Wikipedia commons)
Most women know the benefits of mammograms whether they get regular checkups or not. Early detection and removal of breast tumors greatly improves the odds of patients' survival. But what if some cancers go away on their own?
Lumps found by mammograms often prove not to be cancer. Most women and their doctors opt for invasive treatment, rather than waiting to see if there is imminent danger.
But now in a recent Archives of Internal Medicine report from November 24, researchers concluded some cancers detected by mammograms would disappear on their own. Researches stated:
It appears that some breast cancers detected by repeated mammographic screening would not persist to be detectable by a single mammogram at the end of 6 years. This raises the possibility that the natural course of some screen-detected invasive breast cancers is to spontaneously regress.
The regularly screened group had 22% more cancers overall than did the control group. It appears more research is called for to know exactly why the cancers disappeared.
For now, many people will have to weigh out a lower breast cancer death rate versus unnecessary cancer treatment on their own. This study will only add fuel to the ongoing debate about the use of mammography.
For more info:
Archives of Internal Medicine Breast Cancer Study
Breast cancer gene test and health insurance
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