According to reports, there’s growing discussion in the field of medicine over the use of mammograms.

A study looked at the data that was collected in Norway between 1996 and 2005 on over 40,000 women who were in their 50s and 60s.

It was found that mammograms done on a regular basis decreased the risk of breast cancer death by only 10%. The rate was a lot less than what the panel had deemed, which queried about mammograms during the discussion on the subject of revamping the U. S. health-care system.

The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, in this week’s edition.

It is reported that the rate of deaths due to breast cancer in the US has been plummeting by 2% a year on the whole. And earlier estimates had pointed out 15-23% of this decrease to mammograms.

However, the results of the study indicate that the fall in breast cancer deaths has arrived because of other factors like improved treatment and increased awareness of the disease.

Daniel Kopans, a Spokesman for the American College of Radiology said, "There is no universal cure in sight. Until one is found, annual screening and early detection, beginning by the age of 40, offer women the best chance for a cure".