Is Mammography an effective device to detect Breast Cancer?

New findings on the eve of World Cancer Day on 4^th February

Mammography emerged as a popular diagnostic technique to diagnose breast cancer throughout the world as it gained popularity with the awareness levels. This has been used as tool to detect women of all age groups so far, even for the early detection of cancer as there are chances of curing it effectively, if detected early.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization (WHO) agency that works exclusively on cancer, there are certain important revelations. According to IARC Handbook on Breast Cancer Screening 2016, Breast Cancer mortality and morbidity rates are low among the women in the age group of 50-59 and the women below 49 and above 70 are vulnerable to this threat. Hence the report suggested mammography suitable only for the women in the age group of 50-59 only, as there are many side effects of over doing mammography among the general public. 

According to Dr. Surendra Shastri, heading the preventive oncology unit of Tata Memorial Hospital, also heads the WHO Collaborating Division for Cancer Prevention revealed the latest information related to breast cancer in an article published in ‘New England Journal of Medicine’.

Till date Mammography is the only effective tool that could detect cancer precisely, as there are several many evidences to prove this. However, Mammogram is advisable only at the advanced stages not for the mere detection. The article outlines the side effects of mammogram; saying that excessive exposure to radiation itself would induce cancer and it is not advisable for the women below 50 years. Women that are in the post-menopause however can undergo this test as it was proved effective for them. Asymptomatic women below the 50 years of age must rely on breast self-examination and undergo a clinical breast examination once a year to detect the presence of any tumor.