Canadian researchers evaluating results from seven international studies on the benefits of breast self exams (BSE) said they offer no benefit and may actually be harmful, in a study published Tuesday.
The controversial study, appearing in the peer-reviewed Canadian Medical Association Journal, debunks the long-held theory that BSE are a cost-effective way to detect breast cancer early, possibly preventing cancer death.
"In summary, no appropriately-designed study has shown a benefit from regular performance of (breast self examination) or BSE education over no BSE," the researchers concluded.
"In contrast, there is good evidence of harm from BSE instruction," said lead author Nancy Baxter, who undertook the study with the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, which advises providers on health matters.
In an accompanying editorial, two doctors from Boston's Harvard Medical School, while agreeing ostensibly with the research findings, cautioned it was premature to advise patients to stop practicing BSE.
"We must honestly share the uncertainties about its potential benefits and harms and then help patients in their decisions about its use," said Harvard doctors Larissa Nekhlyudov and Suzanne Fletcher.
The Canadian study evaluated the effectiveness of the self exams by reviewing results from seven studies conducted between 1996 and 2000, including two large ongoing studies in China and Russia.
The researchers said "current findings make the possibility of a large impact of BSE on mortality unlikely."
By contrast, they said, "harms" from breast self exams were evident, including a significantly higher number of doctor visits and higher rates of benign biopsy results.
The researchers on the Canadian task force, which in 1994 refused to endorse breast self exams due to insufficient evidence of their benefits, recommended doctors abandon the practice of teaching women aged 40-69 how to perform breast self exams during routine visits.
Breast cancer accounts for 30 percent of new cancer cases among Canadian women. Last year an estimated 5,500 Canadians died from the disease.
The American Cancer Society estimates 193,706 US women will this year be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer; some 40,600 will die from the disease – (AFP).
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
