According to a new Cochrane review, breast self-examination by itself does not increase survival. The finding is based on 2 studies of 120,000 Russian women and 266,000 Chinese women in 2003 and 2002 respectively.
Both suggest that self-examination actually increase benign biopsies but does not get the patient into earlier treatment. However, the study does not say women should not do self-examinations, but researchers wrote "screening by self-examination or physical examination cannot be recommended".
Source: "Regular self-examination or clinical examination for early detection of breast cancer." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 3 ( full text via Athens from Cochrane Library)
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