Are mammograms, according to data from a new study, responsible for an increase in breast cancer mortality by 84 percent? No, that's not true: The study that the video on TikTok refers to never claimed that mammography leads to a breast cancer death rate increase. It showed that women with a false-positive mammogram result, i.e. who were found to have certain abnormalities that were not cancerous at the time of the examination, were at a higher risk of developing breast cancer in the next 20 years compared to the women who did not have a false-positive result.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on March 8, 2024. It opened (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff):
A SHOCKING STUDY: MAMMOGRAPHY IS CONNECTED TO AN 84% HIGHER DEATH RATE FROM BREAST CANCER
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 09:10:30 2024 UTC)
The claim from the video appeared in an article published by Nulta tačka, a web portal known for promoting misinformation and conspiracy theories, such as "France adopted a new law to criminalize criticism of mRNA technology" (archived here). Nulta tačka has a lengthy record of publishing false stories in the past, such as that the German government ordered children from poor families to engage in prostitution, that people vaccinated against COVID with mRNA vaccines emit a fluorescent glow under UV light (archived here) and that the World Health Organization director says independent media must be "wiped out" before disease X emerges (archived here).
The mammogram article refers to a population-based study published in the journal JAMA Oncology on November 2, 2023, titled "Breast Cancer Incidence After a False-Positive Mammography Result" (archived here) conducted in Sweden. Contrary to the claim in the video, the study never examined, nor did it claim to examine, if mammography increases cancer mortality. It studied long-term medical conditions for women who had false positive mammography results. The study results showed that women who had certain abnormalities in their breast tissue that were not cancerous at the time of the examination, but that the mammography falsely showed as positive, were at higher risk of developing breast cancer in the next 20 years.
Mammography (archived here) is a specialized medical imaging that uses a low-dose X-ray system to see inside the breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is extremely important for women because it helps in detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in early stages, before women experience any symptoms, and when it is the most treatable.
In reality, regular mammography scans lower the incidence of breast cancer mortality up to 49 percent, according to another case study (archived here) from Holland. Their study showed that the greatest reduction was expressed in women aged 70-75 and was represented by an 84% drop in mortality.
Lead Stories reached out to a gynecologist, Dr. Boris Franulović (archived here). In a March 19, 2024, phone call, he told us (as translated):
I absolutely reject such a possibility, especially because today there is such advanced equipment that has completely reduced radiation. I recommend mammography every two to three years.
