Contrary to previous belief, breast self-examination does not protect a woman from dying of breast cancer.

It's long been accepted that careful, regular breast self-examination (BSE) will help a woman to detect any lumps at an early stage. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle have set out to determine the true value of BSE.

They divided a group of 266,064 female factory workers into two groups. One was assigned to education about BSE, reminders to carry out the procedure, and regular practice. The other women acted as a control, receiving no information on BSE. After ten to 11 years, there was no difference in breast cancer mortality between the two groups - although more harmless breast lumps were found in the BSE group.

While BSE should not be abandoned, the researchers say, it is clear that the focus should shift - perhaps towards using it more as an adjunct to mammography. BSE turns out to be not that easy to do successfully, and it may even be expensive, if harmless lesions are uncovered which then need to be investigated.

Source

Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2nd October 2002