Regular mammograms (breast cancer screenings) may do more harm than good by increasing chances of false positive results and making women to undergo unnecessary surgery, a fresh study revealed.

According to the study, published in the Thursday edition of the British Medical Journal, the risks involved in breast cancer screening offset its benefits when the frequency of false positives is taken into account.

British researchers found that one woman's life is saved when two thousand women are screened for breast cancer, but it led to an estimated two hundred false positives and ten unnecessary surgeries.

Speaking on the topic, lead author Prof. James Raftery said, "It's difficult to balance the gain of one life against 200 false positives and 10 unnecessary surgeries. And the side effects are pretty damn serious."

Researchers weighed the risks and benefits of regular mammograms and found that in the ten years after screening, quality adjusted life years got a net negative, indicating that screening was doing more harm than good.

Researcher recommended that watchful waiting could be a good alternative to screening and the following surgery. In other words, one should delay surgery until it is clear if a lump is truly a life-threatening tumor.