Screening for Breast Cancer

Screening for Breast Cancer provides a multidisciplinary overview of the screening process, and the use of x-rays in screening for breast cancer. It explains how and why X-rays are used, introduces other imaging methods, and explores the benefits, risks, and costs of screening.

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Screening for common diseases is seen by some as a vital intervention in major health problems and by others as a costly exercise in public relations. Breast cancer incidence is increasing and screening programmes have been established in many countries. However, questions remain as to their efficacy, given the financial costs to health services, and the emotional and in some cases physical costs to well women who are screened. Screening for Breast Cancer begins by setting out the principles of effective screening programmes, and reviews variations in the incidence of breast cancer in different countries and age-groups to shed light on the major risk factors. This leads to a study of the normal and abnormal cell biology on which breast cancer diagnosis depends. The most common method of screening for early breast cancer worldwide is mammography using X-ray images. Screening for Breast Cancer is supported by a fully interactive DVD, developed in collaboration with a hospital breast screening service.The book and an interactive multimedia sequence explain the physical basis of X-rays, how and why they are used in mammography, and why the breast has to be compressed between two plates for a mammogram.
The mammography procedure, how the mammography machine works and how mammograms are interpreted, are explained in videos, concluding with a visit to the follow-up clinic and pathology laboratory where breast biopsy samples are processed and evaluated microscopically. Some other imaging methods that may become more important in the future are also introduced and the concepts of sensitivity and specificity are explained. The book closes by exploring the benefits, risks and costs of screening for breast cancer, so that the reader can weigh up the pros and cons, and see how the general principles might apply to other screening programmes. The Online Resource Centre features: For lecturers who are registered adopters of the book: Figures from the book in electronic - format, available to download For students: - Access to ROUTES, a searchable internet database of online resources compiled by academic staff and subject-specialist librarians.