Will screening mammography in the East do more harm than good?

Abstract

We sought to systematically review the evidence for population-based mammography as applied to a Chinese population. Primary reports for meta-analysis were identified by a search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library. Outcome measures included breast cancer-related mortality, the number needed to be screened to prevent 1 death, and the positive predictive value of mammography. Pooled relative risk for breast cancer-related death in the screened group was 0.80 (95% confidence interval = 0.71, 0.90). Applied to Hong Kong, this figure translates into a number needed to screen of 1 302 healthy women screened annually for 10 years to prevent 1 death. Evidence is insufficient to justify population-based breast cancer screening by mammography for women in Hong Kong and other Asian populations with low breast cancer prevalence.