A new study, which examined data from 14 years’ worth of mammography screening, found that the increased incidence of breast cancer observed in that period was due to over-diagnosis. In the absence of screenings, many of the tumors found would never have given rise to clinical illness.
The researchers noted that the effect of hormone replacement therapy could not have been responsible for the increase in breast cancer diagnoses, as the increase occurred during a period when the use of such hormones fell by 70 percent.
According to Green Med Info:
“This latest study confirms ... that breast screening may have caused net harm for up to 10 years after their widespread introduction.”