Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (for mortality data), surveys of practitioners' attitudes, assessments of women's beliefs.
Specific interventions included in the review
Mammography, breast self-examination.
Reference standard test against which the new test was compared
The review did not include any diagnostic accuracy studies that compared the performance of the index test with a reference standard of diagnosis.
Participants included in the review
Women in age groups 50 to 74 and 40 to 49.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Detection rates, stage at diagnosis, 5 year survival rates, mortality
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the authors performed the selection. Results from "the controversial" Canadian randomised study, which showed an excess mortality among women aged 40-49 years who were offered screening, were excluded without adequate explanation.