NHS leaflet ‘resulted in unnecessary breast cancer ops’

A leaflet distributed by the NHS has led to thousands of women opting for surgery unnecessarily, it has been claimed.

According to Dr Joan Austoker, director of the primary care education research group at Oxford University, who is also writing the government’s current breast cancer screening guidelines, those with ductal carcinoma in situ need not necessarily have surgery to remove it.

Ms Austoker told the Sunday Times that much of this type of cancer will never surface clinically, meaning that it may not ever become an issue for those who have it.

“We want to make sure that all the risks of breast screening are referred to in appropriate detail,” she added, discussing an updated set of leaflets that are due to be published in the future.

Less than 50 per cent of dormant cancers detected develop into life-threatening conditions.

In other NHS news this week, the organisation launched a new TV advertisement which calls for a greater number of people to sign up to the organ donor register.