Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35226520›Full record

ArticleAnnals of internal medicine2022

Estimation of Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis in a U.S. Breast Screening Cohort.

Marc D Ryser, Jane Lange, Lurdes Y T Inoue, Ellen S O'Meara, Charlotte Gard, Diana L Miglioretti, Jean-Luc Bulliard, Andrew F Brouwer, E Shelley Hwang, Ruth B Etzioni

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
9.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Estimating the Opportunity for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer Using Individual-Patient Data from a Large Randomized Controlled Trial.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025
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  8. Incidence of dementia after a recent cancer diagnosis among people with HIV.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Breast MRI to Screen Women With Extremely Dense Breasts.Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI · 2025
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Mammographic screening: hero or villain.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2025
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.

Marc D RyserDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, and Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (M.D.R.).ORCID 0000-0002-4990-0849
Jane LangeCenter for Early Detection Advanced Research, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon (J.L.).
Lurdes Y T InoueDepartment of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (L.Y.I.).
Ellen S O'MearaKaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, Washington (E.S.O.).
Charlotte GardDepartment of Economics, Applied Statistics, and International Business, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico (C.G.).ORCID 0000-0001-7201-4450
Diana L MigliorettiDivision of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, Washington (D.L.M.).ORCID 0000-0002-5547-1833
Jean-Luc BulliardCentre for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (J.B.).ORCID 0000-0001-9750-2709
Andrew F BrouwerDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (A.F.B.).ORCID 0000-0002-3779-5287
E Shelley HwangDepartment of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (E.S.H.).ORCID 0000-0002-8571-1148
Ruth B EtzioniProgram in Biostatistics, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington (R.B.E.).ORCID 0000-0002-9164-6370
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute · USCentre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique, Lausanne · CHDuke Medical Center · USDuke University · USFred Hutch Cancer Center · USNew Mexico State University · USOregon Health & Science University · USUniversity of Michigan · USUniversity of Washington · US

Funding

Women's Cancer Research ProgramP30CA014236 · NCI · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI JOHN N. NORTON · 1985 to 2026
$174.8M
Risk-based Imaging Strategies to Improve Breast Cancer Surveillance OutcomesP01CA154292 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI KARLA M KERLIKOWSKE · 2011 to 2026
$52.9M
Vermont Screening Process Documentation UnitU54CA163303 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · PI SPRAGUE, BRIAN L · 2011 to 2017
$6.4M
ReCAPSE: Recurrence from Claims And PROs for SEER EnhancementUH3CA218909 · NCI · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI CHUBAK, JESSICA, ETZIONI, RUTH D · 2020 to 2022
$1.7M
Modeling to Minimize Detection Bias in Cancer Risk Prediction StudiesR01CA242735 · NCI · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI ETZIONI, RUTH D · 2019 to 2021
$1.2M
The Mathematics of Breast Cancer Overtreatment: Improving Treatment Choice through Effective Communication of Personalized Cancer RiskR00CA207872 · NCI · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI RYSER, MARC · 2018 to 2020
$746k
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA154292NCI NIH HHS P30 CA014236NCI NIH HHS R00 CA207872NCI NIH HHS R01 CA242735NCI NIH HHS U54 CA163303NCI NIH HHS UH3 CA218909
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMammography screening can lead to overdiagnosis-that is, screen-detected breast cancer that would not have caused symptoms or signs in the remaining lifetime. There is no consensus about the frequency of breast cancer overdiagnosis.

objectiveTo estimate the rate of breast cancer overdiagnosis in contemporary mammography practice accounting for the detection of nonprogressive cancer.

designBayesian inference of the natural history of breast cancer using individual screening and diagnosis records, allowing for nonprogressive preclinical cancer. Combination of fitted natural history model with life-table data to predict the rate of overdiagnosis among screen-detected cancer under biennial screening.

settingBreast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) facilities.

participantsWomen aged 50 to 74 years at first mammography screen between 2000 and 2018. MEASUREMENTS: Screening mammograms and screen-detected or interval breast cancer.

resultsThe cohort included 35 986 women, 82 677 mammograms, and 718 breast cancer diagnoses. Among all preclinical cancer cases, 4.5% (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 0.1% to 14.8%) were estimated to be nonprogressive. In a program of biennial screening from age 50 to 74 years, 15.4% (UI, 9.4% to 26.5%) of screen-detected cancer cases were estimated to be overdiagnosed, with 6.1% (UI, 0.2% to 20.1%) due to detecting indolent preclinical cancer and 9.3% (UI, 5.5% to 13.5%) due to detecting progressive preclinical cancer in women who would have died of an unrelated cause before clinical diagnosis. LIMITATIONS: Exclusion of women with first mammography screen outside BCSC.

conclusionOn the basis of an authoritative U.S. population data set, the analysis projected that among biennially screened women aged 50 to 74 years, about 1 in 7 cases of screen-detected cancer is overdiagnosed. This information clarifies the risk for breast cancer overdiagnosis in contemporary screening practice and should facilitate shared and informed decision making about mammography screening. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Cancer Institute.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsBayes TheoremEarly Detection of CancerFemaleHumansMammographyMass ScreeningOverdiagnosis

Identifiers

PMID35226520
PMCPMC9359467
OpenAlexW4214596416

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.