The Role of Mammographic Screening in the Control of Breast Cancer: An Overview

Breast cancer is not only the common malignancy of women, accounting for 24%–25% of all female malignancies, but its incidence is rising. As we have no clear understanding of the aetiology of breast cancer, primary prevention is not possible. To date, there is no method that effectively defines those women who will develop breast cancer. Roberts et al. reported “When all risk factors were combined, 48% of all women fell into a ‘high risk’ category, but only 55% of the cancers were in this group. We conclude, that selective screening of high risk groups is not a viable alternative to population screening” [9].