This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Forrest report

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

In 1985, Professor Sir Patrick Forrest was commissioned to evaluate the potential benefit of breast screening. His recommendations drew on studies undertaken in New York, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

In 1963, the USA health insurance plan study randomised 80,300 women aged 40-64 years between screened and control groups. Using two-view mammography with clinical examination, the screened group showed:

  • 30% reduction in mortality after 10 years
  • 23% reduction in mortality after 18 years

In 1977, the Swedish two-counties trial randomised 162,891 women aged over 40 years between screened and control groups. Using mammography initially, with clinical examination if the radiographs were suspicious, results for the screened group showed:

  • 30% reduction in mortality after 8 years

The Forrest Committee concluded that high-quality mammographic screening had the potential for reducing the mortality from breast cancer in women over 50 years of age by 30%. Evidence for the effectiveness of clinical or self examination alone was not substantiated.


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.