X-ray Mammography

X-ray Mammography

The studies below provide evidence that x-ray mammography is a carcinogenic procedure that may harm between 10-50 more women than it helps.*

*For every woman whose life is prolonged through diagnosis 10 women are "unnecessarily treated," i.e. their life is shortened. Moreover, the type of  "low energy" used in x-ray mammography when compared to the higher energy radiation associated with atomic bomb radiation, is up to 5 times more carcinogenic/DNA disruptive. This is why one can say that 50 women are harmed for every one woman helped. For more information read our article The Dark Side of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Related Topics

X-ray Mammography is a Sub of the following Topic

Quick Summary: 11 associated Diseases
NameCumulative KnowledgeArticle CountFocus ArticlesSmart Search
Breast Cancer17625Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Breast Cancer: Prevention15124Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Ductal Carcinoma: Invasive302Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Radiation Induced Illness288Log in | Sign upSmart Search
DNA damage213Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Breast Cancer: Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC)201Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Breast Disorders: Fat Necrosis112Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Breast Cancer: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ101Log in | Sign upSmart Search
Breast Cancer: Lumpectomy/Post-Lumpectomy101Log in | Sign upSmart Search
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View the Evidence: Problematic Actions

Computer aided detection (CAD) during mammography is associated with decreased specificity but not with improvement in the detection rate or prognostic characteristics of invasive breast cancer.

Pubmed Data : J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011 Jul 27. Epub 2011 Jul 27. PMID: 21795668
Article Published Date : Jul 27, 2011
Study Type : Meta Analysis
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), Breast Cancer: Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) : CK(51) : AC(4), Ductal Carcinoma: Invasive : CK(51) : AC(5)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Estimates of overdiagnosis of invasive breast cancer associated with screening mammography in Australia are between 30-42%.

Pubmed Data : Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Feb ;21(2):275-82. Epub 2009 Nov 6. PMID: 19894130
Article Published Date : Feb 01, 2010
Study Type : Meta Analysis
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Additional Keywords : Overdiagnosis : CK(30) : AC(2)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Mammography screenings do not play a direct part in the reductions in breast cancer mortality observed in European countries from 1989-2006. .

Pubmed Data : BMJ. 2011 ;343:d4411. Epub 2011 Jul 28. PMID: 21798968
Article Published Date : Jan 01, 2011
Study Type : Meta Analysis
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Meta-analysis: the introduction of breast cancer screening might have caused net harm for up to 10 years after the start of screening.

Pubmed Data : BMJ. 2011 ;343:d7627. Epub 2011 Dec 8. PMID: 22155336
Article Published Date : Jan 01, 2011
Study Type : Meta Analysis
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)
Adverse Pharmacological Actions : Carcinogenic : CK(871) : AC(110)

Low-dose radiation increases breast cancer risk among high-risk women.

Pubmed Data : Eur Radiol. 2010 Nov;20(11):2547-56. Epub 2010 Jun 27. PMID: 20582702
Article Published Date : Nov 01, 2010
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73), Radiation Induced Illness : CK(1024) : AC(249)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : Radation Exposure: Low-Dose : CK(55) : AC(9), X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

14 years of mammography screening in Norway indicate that all increase in the incidence of breast cancer is due to over-diagnosis: findings of tumours that in the absence of screening would never have given rise to clinical illness.

Pubmed Data : Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2012 Feb 21 ;132(4):414-417. PMID: 22353833
Article Published Date : Feb 21, 2012
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Despite increased early detection of breast cancer, mortality rose from 2007 to 2008 in the Nethelands for the first time since 1995.

Pubmed Data : Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2010;154(6):A1550. PMID: 20170568
Article Published Date : Jan 01, 2010
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Despite increases in breast cancer screening in the US (1990-1998), the rate of diagnosis of early-stage breast cancers has not resulted in a reduction in late-stage breast cancers.

Pubmed Data : Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2004 Jun;85(3):219-22. PMID: 15111759
Article Published Date : Jun 01, 2004
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Digital mammography is associated with overtreatment.

Pubmed Data : J Clin Pathol. 2011 Mar ;64(3):215-9. Epub 2010 Dec 22. PMID: 21177749
Article Published Date : Mar 01, 2011
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), Breast Cancer: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ : CK(101) : AC(11), Ductal Carcinoma: Invasive : CK(51) : AC(5)
Additional Keywords : Overtreatment : CK(20) : AC(2)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Diagnostic Technologies : CK(382) : AC(52), X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44), X-ray Mammography: Digital : CK(10) : AC(1)

Fat necrosis following post-lumpectomy irradiation may complicate clinical imaging results and result in additional diagnostic procedures including biopsy.

Pubmed Data : Radiother Oncol. 2010 Oct;97(1):92-4. Epub 2010 Mar 11. PMID: 20227125
Article Published Date : Oct 01, 2010
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Lumpectomy/Post-Lumpectomy : CK(11) : AC(2), Breast Disorders: Fat Necrosis : CK(11) : AC(2)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : Breast Biopsy : CK(25) : AC(7), Lumpectomy : CK(10) : AC(1), Radiotherapy : CK(293) : AC(41), X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

In comparison with the UK the US has far higher recall rates, despite the increased frequency of routine mammography screenings (18 months USA; 36 months in the UK).

Pubmed Data : J Med Screen. 2005;12(1):50-4. PMID: 15814020
Article Published Date : Jan 01, 2005
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Invasive breast cancer incidence is 57% higher in women undergoing mammography screening, indicating the possibility that left undiagnosed and untreated some invasive breast cancers spontaneously regress (or, that mammography causes invasive cancer)

Pubmed Data : Arch Intern Med. 2008 Nov 24;168(21):2311-6. PMID: 19029493
Article Published Date : Nov 24, 2008
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Metastatic : CK(79) : AC(31), Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Mammographic screening induces DNA damage in human mammary cells, which is more prominent in high risk patients.

Pubmed Data : Int J Radiat Biol. 2011 Jul 29. Epub 2011 Jul 29. PMID: 21797809
Article Published Date : Jul 29, 2011
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73), DNA damage : CK(680) : AC(293)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Reducing mammography screening to once every two years versus annually achieves most of the benefit and with less harm.

Pubmed Data : Ann Intern Med. 2009 Nov 17;151(10):738-47. PMID: 19920274
Article Published Date : Nov 17, 2009
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Reducing mammography screening to once every two years versus annually does not increase advanced breast cancer rates.

Pubmed Data : CMAJ. 2003 Jul 22;169(2):111-7. PMID: 16927175
Article Published Date : Jul 22, 2003
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

The dramatic increase in detection of early-stage tumors (1943-2002 in Connecticut) have not translated into major declines in late-stage disease and mortality, suggesting that many mammography-derived early-stage lesions may never progress to late-stage

Pubmed Data : Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2006 Oct;99(3):333-40. Epub 2006 May 9. PMID: 16703451
Article Published Date : Oct 01, 2006
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

The estimated benefits of mammography screening may depend entirely on study design.

Pubmed Data : Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi. 2005 Nov;27(11):667-71. PMID: 17486020
Article Published Date : Nov 01, 2005
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

The estimated risk of a false positive recall after 10 screening mammographs is estimated to be 63%.

Pubmed Data : Stat Methods Med Res. 2010 Mar 31. Epub 2010 Mar 31. PMID: 20356857
Article Published Date : Mar 31, 2010
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Additional Keywords : False Positives : CK(10) : AC(1)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

The initiation of breast cancer screening in women 50-69 in Denmark from 1991-1993 corresponded to an increase in breast cancer incidence (where overdiagnosis was ruled out).

Pubmed Data : Cancer. 2006 May 1;106(9):1883-90. PMID: 16572411
Article Published Date : May 01, 2006
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

The natural history of breast cancers detected in the Swedish mammography screening programme indicate that many screen-detected invasive breast cancers spontaneously regress.

Pubmed Data : Lancet Oncol. 2011 Nov ;12(12):1118-24. Epub 2011 Oct 11. PMID: 21996169
Article Published Date : Nov 01, 2011
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Additional Keywords : Disease Regression : CK(138) : AC(20), Spontaneous Tumor Regression : CK(20) : AC(2)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

There is indication that annual two-view mammographic screening before age 40 years would result in a net increase in breast cancer deaths due to radiation-induced tumorigenesis.

Pubmed Data : Br J Cancer. 2005 Sep 5;93(5):590-6. PMID: 16136033
Article Published Date : Sep 05, 2005
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), Breast Cancer: Prevention : CK(513) : AC(73), Radiation Induced Illness : CK(1024) : AC(249)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Women with BRCA genes are more susceptible to the adverse effects of x-ray mammography.

Pubmed Data : MedGenMed. 2000 Mar 9;2(1):E9. Epub 2000 Mar 9. PMID: 11104455
Article Published Date : Mar 09, 2000
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566), DNA damage : CK(680) : AC(293)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

X-ray imaging increases the risk of breast cancer in those with BRCA 1/2 gene mutations.

Pubmed Data : J Clin Oncol. 2006 Jul 20;24(21):3361-6. Epub 2006 Jun 26. PMID: 16801631
Article Published Date : Jul 20, 2006
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Diagnostic Technologies : CK(382) : AC(52), X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

X-ray Mammography: for every woman whose life is prolonged 10 women's lives will be shortened, i.e. "treated unnecessarily."

Pubmed Data : Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009(4):CD001877. Epub 2009 Oct 7. PMID: 19821284
Article Published Date : Jan 01, 2009
Study Type : Human Study
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

Disappearing breast masses caused by compression during mammography have been reported.

Pubmed Data : Radiology. 1987 Nov;165(2):327-8. PMID: 3659351
Article Published Date : Nov 01, 1987
Study Type : Human: Case Report
Additional Links
Diseases : Breast Cancer : CK(2051) : AC(566)
Anti Therapeutic Actions : X-ray Mammography : CK(306) : AC(44)

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