Screening: is breast cancer overdiagnosed?

Jørgensen and Gøtzsche quantified the degree of overdiagnosis of breast cancer in five publicly organized mammography screening programs in different parts of the world. overall, they estimated a total degree of breast cancer (including carcinoma in situ) overdiagnosis of 52%, while overdiagnosis for invasive breast cancer was 35%, a finding with potential implications for both clinical practice and public health.