Episode 4: Is Screening Mammography All That?
2 Docs Talk: The podcast about healthcare, the science of medicine and everything in between. - A podcast by Kendall Britt, MD and Amy Rogers, MD
Screening mammography is widely used throughout the U.S. and is thought of as a great success in the prevention of breast cancer deaths. But what does the evidence say? Are we getting what we are paying for with mammography, or simply shouldering the extra cost of false positives and overdiagnosis? We examine these issues and more on this episode of 2 Docs Talk. References: What does the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) do? USPSTF current (2009) breast cancer screening recs USPSTF proposed (2015) breast cancer screening recs American Cancer Society updated breast cancer screening recs American College of Obstetricians and Radiologists breast cancer screening recs American College of Radiology breast cancer screening recs Switzerland's stance on screening mammography Cost of false positive mammograms BMJ study that showed no benefit from screening mammography performed in 1980's JAMA Oncology study on ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) An excellent (and long!) discussion of overdiagnosis and screening mammography
