Screening for breast cancer: A systematic review update to inform the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care guideline.

A systematic review update was conducted to inform the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's guideline on breast cancer screening for women aged 40 and older. The review included three new papers reporting on existing randomized controlled trial (RCT) data and 26 observational studies. The RCT data showed a significant relative reduction in the risk of breast cancer mortality with screening mammography, while the observational data showed a range of relative mortality risk reduction. The review also found evidence of overdiagnosis. However, the overall quality of evidence was assessed as low or very low, indicating uncertainty about the effects of screening. The authors recommend future research to prioritize studying screening in higher risk populations. [Extracted from the article]