Breast Cancer

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/11/24/healthmag.mammograms.breast.cancer/index.html?iref=newssearch
A recent study that was first going to be just dismissed proved to show some insight into the world of breast cancer. A team led by Per-Henrik Zahl, M.D., of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, studied two different groups of women from before and after Norway stepped up its mammogram screening program in 1996. The first group consisted of 119,000 women between the ages of 50 and 64 who had routine mammograms every two years (3 between 1996 and 2001). These women were compared with a second group of 110,000 consisting of the same age group in 1992 but had only one mammogram in 1997. The women who had more mammograms had more cases of invasive breast cancer which isn't shocking since if you are looking for it you'll probably find it. However, at the end of this study, instead of the results being the same the cases of invasive breast cancer were still higher by 22% among the regularly screened women. This leads Per-Henrik Zahl and his team to suggest that perhaps some of the tumors detected by mammography would have spontaneously regressed if not caught and treated. Yet, we know little about what happens to untreated breast cancer since it is unethical to not treat a woman with tumors.
Is is possible that there is a type of tumor that is different from the ones we know? We do know that some melanoma forms of cancer will shrink on their own or regress, and about 32 cases reported in which invasive breast cancer regressed. But with any new discovery there are many skeptics. Will more research discourage women from having their routine screening? Screenings save lives and despite what is discovered, women must continue to have them done. There is nothing unethical about this research and it can prove to be quite beneficial in the future. Doctors are only trying to solve one of the many mysteries that are involved with cancer.