Breast cancer mammography screening for low-risk women in South Africa

Abstract

The recently published opinion by Prof J Apffelstaedt reflecting on the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast screening recommendations from a South African perspective refers.¹ The conclusion of this opinion is that currently available data indicate that breast cancer screening in South Africa should start at the age of 40 years. This opinion is based on three arguments. The first argument is that no reliable data are available for the South African population, and the incidence of breast cancer is higher and the disease is diagnosed at an earlier age in African American² and Malaysian women.³ The second argument is that the author is part of a unit that offers high quality mammography screening,⁴ and the third is that the most important harm attributable to mammography is a negligible risk of radiation.¹