According to reports, a new study analyzed data related to breast cancer diagnosis from 16 million women in 547 US counties in 2000. The study has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine published Monday. That year, over 53,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been found by researchers that there was an increase in number of breast cancer diagnoses with more aggressive screenings.

What came as a surprise was that the number of deaths as a result of the condition was unchanged. It was found in the study that mammography led to diagnosis of more small cancers; however, it was not linked to higher detection of more advanced and dangerous larger tumors. The researchers together with Richard Wilson, a professor at Harvard University who has been carrying out a number of studies on risk-benefit analysis and cancer said that the findings "suggest widespread overdiagnosis".

The problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in cancer care is a big concern. It happens in breast cancer also. The number of false positives in mammograms has been estimated to be less than 10 to 50% of all women who are screened for the condition. Researchers from the University of Washington School Of Medicine said that this thing has led to problem for both patients and their caregivers. They wrote their opinion on section accompanying the Wilson study.

According to Joann G. Elmore and Ruth Etzioni, “Treatment of an overdiagnosed tumor cannot provide benefit, but it can lead to harm. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment are now widely acknowledged to be an important harm of medical practice, including cancer screening”.