Researchers Say Komen Touts Misleading Mammogram Benefits

Two Dartmouth professors argue in a new medical paper that the cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure overstates the benefits and minimizes the risk of mammograms, according to CNN.

The report, published Thursday in the British Medical Journal, accuses the world’s largest breast-cancer organization of using statistics that misleadingly correlate screening and early detection with survival to persuade women to undergo the procedure.

One of the authors, Steven Woloshin of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, said Komen advertising campaigns urging mammograms ignore the harm caused by misdiagnoses that can lead to unnecessary radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.

Komen officials said mammography is not perfect but remains the best available detection tool. “We have long advocated for women to be informed about the benefits and risks of early detection and treatment,” said Chandini Portteus, the charity’s research chief. “The numbers are not in question. Early detection allows for early treatment, which gives women the best chance of surviving breast cancer.”