[Iatrogenic risk and screening: the example of mammography]

Iatrogenic risk is a necessary component of any curative medical intervention in medicine. By contrast, its existence is often ignored in public health programmes. The example of breast cancer screening by means of mammography is studied here to describe the type and importance of risks linked to the screening examination itself, but also to the ensuing complementary procedures in order to evaluate the global impact on women's health in the general population. Methods for risk evaluation and the few data available in the literature are reviewed. The aim of the present article is to ensure the respect of principles of ethics in the health interventions directed towards populations considered a priori as being healthy, and to put the case for high quality screening.