An organized population-based breast cancer screening program in
Norway and an approach to screening that relies on physician-
and self-referrals in Vermont are equally sensitive for
detecting cancer, researchers report in the July 29 online issue
of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. But the recall
rate for abnormal mammograms was lower in Norway. Breast cancer
screening in the United States is usually initiated in response
to a physician's recommendation (known as "opportunistic
screening"), and women are advised to have annual screening
mammograms. By contrast, breast cancer screening programs in
Norway and in some other European countries regularly send
letters to all women in a specific age range inviting them to
have a screening mammogram. The Norway program aims for women to
be screened every two years. The differences between the two
approaches make it relatively difficult to compare their
effectiveness, and few studies have aimed to do so previously.
In the current study, Berta Geller, Ed.