Mammograms help detect breast cancer early and are a standard medical exam around the world. However, in May 2024, hundreds of social media users claimed that Switzerland banned the practice, and that Canada, Italy, Scotland and Australia suspended it. They also point out that mammography “stimulates tumor growth” and “the spread of metastases.” All of these claims are false, as cancer experts detailed to AFP.
“SWITZERLAND IS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO BAN MAMMOGRAPHS”announces a user on Facebook, who adds that this detection service was also suspended “in parts of Canada, Italy, Scotland and Australia”.
Other posts on X and Telegram, including some in English, French and Romanian, spread the same claim, accusing the procedure of producing incorrect results and inducing breast cancer. Similar versions have been circulating online since at least 2014.
Mammography is an x-ray of the breast, which can be used for breast cancer screening or for diagnostic purposes, such as to investigate unusual symptoms or findings found on other imaging tests.
Researchers have detected a recent increase in breast cancer rates in young people. The European Commission recommended in 2022 to reduce the minimum age for breast screening programs to 45 years, with the aim of detecting more early cases. In Canada, campaigns are being carried out to standardize the minimum age at 40 years.
Neither banned nor suspended
Doctors and health authorities continue to debate what is the best age to start having mammograms, but it is false that the practice is prohibited in Switzerland.
Both the Federal Office of Public Health and the non-profit Swiss Cancer League confirmed to AFP on May 14 that the country continues to offer the procedure.
“These are totally false rumors”said a spokesperson for the Swiss Cancer League. “In Switzerland, mammography is currently the main method for detecting early-stage breast cancer”he explained.
It is also false that the study has been suspended “in parts of Canada, Italy, Scotland and Australia”.
“Mammography is the only technique that has been shown to be safe and effective in the detection of breast cancer, and the mammogram is the only imaging technique authorized by Health Canada for the detection of breast cancer”says Health Canada on its website.
In that country, each province and territory establishes its own cancer screening guidelines.
The health authorities of Prince Edward Island and British Columbia, both Canadian provinces, confirmed to AFP that the health service has not been suspended there. The Canadian Cancer Society website shows mammography programs in all other provinces and territories except Nunavut, whose policies are based on the Ottawa Hospital screening program.
For Australia, Scotland, and Italy, keyword searches returned publications on government sites indicating that all three countries have mammography breast cancer screening programs (1, 2, 3).
“False positives”
The publications also state that “50-60% of ‘positive’ results are incorrect!!!”.
A March 2022 study from the University of California-Davis cites similar numbers when analyzing positive screenings that led to more diagnostic workup but no final diagnosis of breast cancer.
Radiologist Paula Gordon, clinical professor in the department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia, told AFP for this verification that the term “false positive” It does not refer to an incorrect diagnosis, but rather to a “false alarm.” In other words, it is used when an abnormality is detected on a mammogram, which deserves further study.
Anna Wilkinson, a general oncologist at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, said the terminology is changing to not call “false positives” to these results. “When a mammogram was done but there is not enough information on it, the woman is asked to return for more images”Wilkinson said. “We are not telling these women that they have cancer.”
Additionally, he commented that such patients may repeat a mammogram or receive an ultrasound before moving on to a biopsy recommendation to determine a cancer diagnosis.
Low radiation risk
The messages also warn against breast compression and state: “Healthy and very sensitive breast tissue is bombarded with radioactive radiation”.
Paula Gordon told AFP that while compression during a mammogram can be uncomfortable, it is quick.
“Compression is necessary during a mammogram to expand the tissue and detect cancers, but also to refine the breast so that it requires less radiation”explained the specialist.
A 2013 Swedish study that assessed whether compression could cause circulating tumor cells to spread found no evidence of such a phenomenon and concluded that mammograms are not dangerous.
Health Canada notes that the body can repair cells that may be damaged by the radiation dose received during a mammogram.
“The benefit of early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer far outweighs the risk of the small amount of radiation received during a mammogram.”assures the agency.
“Overdiagnosis”
The Ottawa Hospital’s Wilkinson also refuted claims that mammography leads to “overdiagnosis,” explaining that when the disease is detected early, patients have “Higher survival rates than advanced stage breast cancer and the treatments you have to go through are much less intensive”.
She also noted that this misinformation about mammography is often based on the Canadian National Breast Screening Study conducted in the 1980s.
The article concluded that mammograms generally do not reduce mortality rates and that patients are “overdiagnosed”. However, the research methodology was later questioned because participants suspected of having breast cancer were placed in the mammography control group (1, 2).
“It is the only trial that has more breast cancers in the screening group than in the non-screening group. And it is the only trial that showed harm with mammography and not benefits.”Wilkinson said.
Other studies have looked at the problem of overdiagnosis, particularly in patients over age 70, and have advised doctors to take personal risk factors into account when recommending additional screening tests. The French National Cancer Institute points out that work continues to identify slowly progressive cancers in order to offer appropriate treatment.
The AFP has previously verified claims about mammograms.