The 2009 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines are not supported by science: the scientific support for mammography screening

Abstract

Mammography screening is one of the major medical accomplishments of the past 40 years. In light of the downstream consequences of any screening test, it was critical that mammography screening be challenged. There have been many legitimate challenges, as well as many challenges that are not scientifically based but have gained credibility because of repetition. The latter have led to a great deal of confusion among women and their physicians. The aim of this review is to dispel many of the misunderstandings that have developed in the past 4 decades and, hopefully, reduce the confusion that has occurred. Mammography screening does not find all breast cancers and does not find all cancers early enough to result in a cure, but it is a major advance, and women should not be denied access to its benefits.