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The benefits and risks of screening mammography have received much attention (NEJM JW Womens Health Feb 24 2014). The Norwegian government initiated screening in 1995 and rolled out this service gradually until national coverage was achieved in 2005; now, all women aged 50 to 69 are invited for screening every two years. In a population-based prospective cohort study, investigators analyzed breast cancer mortality data in all Norwegian women who were aged 50 to 79 between 1986 and 2009.
During more than 15 million person-years of observation, deaths from breast cancer occurred in 1175 of women invited to mammography screening and 8996 not invited. Risk for death was 28% lower (P <0.05) among women invited for screening. The authors estimated…