X-ray screening of the breasts for early detection of breast cancer.
Screening programs are not advisable for women below the age of 50. There are two reasons for this - the incidence of breast cancer in this age group is so low that it does not justify the cost involved. The other reason is that any test performed has a rate of false negatives and false positives. For women aged 50 or less who have no obvious risk factors for breast cancer (such as a family history of the same), the number of false positives that must be followed up becomes disturbingly high.