Cost-benefit determinations in screening mammography.

A cost-benefit analysis clearly shows that the costs for screening a large population of asymptomatic women are well within the cost-benefit range accepted for other areas within the medical care system. Reduction in cancer deaths is not easy to come by. When a method is available which can achieve this result, every effort should be made to make it available until it can be replaced satisfactorily with a less expensive, equally effective method.