[Are invitations to mammography screening a reasonable basis for informed consent?-- Secondary publication].
There is a delicate balance between the benefits and harms of mammography screening, and women should decide for themselves, on an informed basis. The invitation to have a mammography is the only source of information provided to all eligible women, and we explored whether it provides such a basis. We collected invitations from English-speaking and Scandinavian countries. The major benefit of screening, a reduction in breast cancer mortality, was mentioned in 30 of 31 invitations, whereas the most important harms, overdiagnosis and overtreatment, were not mentioned in any of the invitations.
Jørgensen
Karsten Juhl
KJ
H:S Rigshospitalet, Afsnit 7112, Det Nordiske Cochrane Center, København Ø. kj@cochrane.dk
Gøtzsche
Peter C
PC