Possibilities for the reduction of breast cancer mortality

Breast cancer is a major health problem of industrialized countries. It is therefore natural that different opinions are presented in sometimes exaggerated debates about the control of this disease, it is reasonable that this problem should be a matter of public concern. We have tried to take a general view on the ways in which and the extent to which mortality might be reduced. Primary prevention has a potential for bringing about large decreases not only in mortality but also in morbidity, but there is no immediate likelihood of practical measures being introduced. Improved treatment, as we have seen, seems unlikely to reduce overall mortality by more than a marginal amount in the next five to ten years. Secondary prevention, or early detection, seems to offer the immediate possibility of substantial decreases in mortality. As the example of cervical cancer has shown, however, the introduction of effective screening into routine health services poses logistic problems of a different nature.