Ep. 425: Is Breast Cancer Research Flawed?

Guest: Dr. Paula Gordon, University of British Columbia

If you are a woman in your 40s, don’t worry about a mammogram.

At least that’s what Canadian research has been saying since the 1980s. Dr. Paula Gordon, a renowned radiology researcher and clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, says, “The research is wrong!” In a commentary paper that was published in the Journal of Medical Screening, Gordon and colleagues point out the Canadian National Breast Screening Study classified women incorrectly.

Gordon says, “Two trial groups were created – one group where women were given a mammogram and other not. The intent was to determine if a mammogram in women under 40 would reduce the likelihood of death.

Here’s the problem, according to Gordon: “All of the women had a breast examination before the program started. And to complicate matters, the women with existing breast lumps were placed in the study group that would receive a mammogram.”

The result was that the mammogram group saw a higher mortality rate. The women were supposed to be randomly selected, but they weren’t. As a result, the disproportionate death rate diminished the apparent value of a mammogram. Those results led many provincial governments to not fund nor recommend mammograms for women under 50.

We invited Dr. Paula Gordon to join us for a Conversation That Matters about providing women with the best possible information about their health.