Falling breast cancer death rates in Europe have little to do with breast screening but may be explained by better treatment and health systems, researchers report.
Looking at data from three pairs of European countries in Europe they found that although breast cancer screening programs had been introduced 10 to 15 years earlier in some areas than in others, declines in death rates were similar.
Writing in the BMJ they said their findings suggested that "improvements in treatment and in the efficiency of healthcare systems may be more plausible explanations" for falling deaths rates from breast cancer.
http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4411.abstract
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