Study: Breast cancer screening reduces deaths by 28%

Mammograms are "still the best method" modern medicine has for early detection of breast cancer and giving patients the best chance of beating it, a health expert told Good Morning Britain.

Dr Sarah Rawlings from Breakthrough Breast Cancer urged women to continue to have regular checks, despite research suggesting mammograms only prevent one death in every 368 patients who are screened.

Rearchers analysed more than 15 million "person years" and observed breast cancer deaths among 1,175 of the women who were diagnosed after receiving an invitation to screening and in 8,996 of the women who were not invited.

After adjusting for various factors they estimated that invitation to mammography screening was associated with a 28% reduced risk of death from breast cancer.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, boss of the charity Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "This study adds to existing evidence that confirms that breast screening saves lives. Diagnosing breast cancer quickly is vital, as the earlier breast cancer is diagnosed and treated, the greater the chances of survival."

"Women invited to screening in the Norwegian mammography screening programme were at a 28% lower risk of death from breast cancer than women who had not (yet) been invited," the authors wrote.

Read: Study - Breast cancer screening reduces deaths by 28%

New research suggests breast cancer screening reduces the number of deaths from the disease by 28%. For every 368 women who are invited to have a mammogram, one death is prevented, the study claims.

The researchers from Norway set out to evaluate the effectiveness of modern mammography screening by comparing the effects on breast cancer mortality among screened and unscreened women.

The study, published on bmj.com, analysed data from all women in Norway aged 50 to 79 between 1986 and 2009 - the period in which the mammography screening programme was gradually rolled out across the country.