LETTERS: Screening's role in cancer detection
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The headline "Tests missed breast cancer" that accompanied an otherwise mature piece on breast screening (17 January) is inaccurate and can lead to women wrongly believing that there is little value in being screened. We make it clear in our paper, published in the British Medical Journal, that the problem of cancers occurring in women in the screening interval is largely due to these cancers growing as new cancers after a previous screen. After careful comparison of screening X-rays and X-rays taken at the time of diagnosis, a small number of interval cancers will be considered in hindsight by radiologists to have been detectable at the time of the previous screening.
To put this problem in perspective, out of every 10,000 women screened, approximately 60 cancers will be detected earlier at screening and eight will be "missed" because subtle radiological features were overlooked.
Yours sincerely, C.B.J. Woodman Director A. G. Threlfall Centre for Cancer Epidemiology University of Manchester Manchester
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments