Effect of a screening programme on breast carcinoma incidence, mortality and survival

Screening for breast carcinoma revealed 27 cases of malignancy, 7 of them preclinical. The method consisted of palpation and health education. Mammary radiography and fine needle biopsy were used in uncertain cases only. Shortly after the screening the incidence and mortality were lower (1.07 and 0.29 per 10(3), respectively) than during the screening (1.40 and 0.45 per 10(3)). Survival also improved and the percentage of localized cases was higher for patients diagnosed during or after screening than for patients diagnosed before. However, the changes did not show any substantial differences from the long-term trends. It was concluded that the screening programme had no real effect on the malignancy risk. The absence of effect was accounted for by the relatively inefficient screening method.