Pa. Newcomb et Pm. Lantz, RECENT TRENDS IN BREAST-CANCER INCIDENCE, MORTALITY, AND MAMMOGRAPHY, Breast cancer research and treatment, 28(2), 1993, pp. 97-106
The recent trends in mammography, and in breast cancer incidence and m
ortality, demonstrate the impact of an effective cancer control effort
. The number of women over age 40 years who have ever had mammography
has increased over 200% since 1980. Concomitantly, breast cancer incid
ence has increased about 32%, with nearly all of the increase in early
stage disease. Analytic studies of these changes have demonstrated pe
rsuasively that the vast majority of this increase is temporary and is
attributable to the lead-time afforded by mammography. As a result of
this early detection and treatment of breast cancer, mortality has be
gun to decline in 1991-92. Although the search for practical preventiv
e measures should continue, the benefits of early detection can be rea
lized now. Further research is needed to define age groups most approp
riately screened and the optimum intervals for screening.