Breast cancer induction due to mammographic screening in hereditarily affected women.

Breast cancer induction due to mammographic screening has aroused considerable controversy in the discussion of the safety of this procedure. We have attempted to shed some light on this problem by approaching it from both a theoretical and a mathematical point of view. We found that about 99% of mammographically induced breast cancers occur in the group of women who are carriers of a breast cancer gene. Our calculations suggest that in women with an inherited gene for breast cancer an extra tumour in one out of 10 women will be induced by 20 mammographical examinations. On the other hand, mammography is safe for non-gene carriers.