Breast screening has consistently been criticised for resulting in false positives
leading to undue stress and upset, as well as the costs of follow-up mammograms and biopsies. A recent study has found that by testing the blood of patients physicians are able to detect breast cancer.
Breast cancer sheds proteins which are known as biomarkers. These biomarkers when detected in a blood test can distinguish between positive breast cancer and benign lumps. Biomarkers have previously had little success in determining breast cancer but a this new approach compares the different proteins in blood found in the different subtypes of breast cancer allowing for a greater efficiency at distinguishing malignant breast lumps.
The authors write that “…researchers haven’t found good biomarkers because they’ve been treating the different subtypes as a single disease…” The team from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Duke University are hoping to repeat the study in larger groups of women over a longer time period.
This news has come at a good time. A national review of breast screening is currently underway following controversial reports of 600,000 women that breast screening causes more harm than good. Breast screening in the UK started in 1988 and currently offers three yearly mammographies for women aged between 50 and 70 with women over the age of 70 having the option to request a mammography every three years. Many women are unaware, however, of the ability to request a breast screen despite being at the highest risk of contracting breast cancer as age increases. The review is welcome news for critics of the NHS Breast Screening Programme.
