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Differentiating which screen-detected breast cancers have no detrimental health effect versus those that will progress to a more advanced stage is not possible. There is no consistent method for predicting which untreated cancers would be lethal or increase in size rapidly, or the converse. More advanced stage at diagnosis of clinically detected cancers versus mammogram-detected cancers results in more aggressive surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, with a lower 5-year survival [1]. Earlier stage cancer at diagnosis correlates with reduced breast cancer mortality [2].
Source: Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Department Source Type: research