A Thumbs-Down for Breast Self-Exams
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Breast self-exams, which many doctors recommend despite little evidence of benefit, do women more harm than good, according to new research.
A review of two studies involving nearly 400,000 women in Russia and China found that those who performed self-exams underwent almost twice as many biopsies (invasive procedures that remove fluid or tissue that is then analyzed for signs of cancer) that did not find tumors as women who did not examine themselves. There was no meaningful difference in the two groups' death rates.
According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women, after skin cancer -- with more than 200,000 women diagnosed each year.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an expert panel that issues the federal government's official advice on preventive medicine, no longer recommends routine breast self-exams. The American Cancer Society calls breast self-exams optional for most women, noting that their benefits are unclear.
The group also recommends annual mammograms for women over age 40 and clinical breast exams every three years for women in their 20s and 30s.
Review authors Jan Peter Kosters and Peter Gotzsche, from Denmark, advised health professionals to discuss the findings with women who continue to do self-exams; however, they also advised women who do self-exams to immediately report any perceived changes in their breasts to a doctor.
The review was published in the July issue of the Cochrane Library.
-- Brittney Johnson
