Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Italy, women are invited to a population-based mammography screening programme for the first time at the age of 45 or 50 years. Results from randomised controlled trials, observational studies, and systematic reviews continuously fuel the debate on the balance on benefits (reducing breast cancer mortality) and harms (overdiagnosis, overtreatment) of mammography screening. Physicians, policy makers, as well as laypeople or patient associations agree on the need to inform women about the potential benefits and harms in order to allow an aware decision process. Decision aids are an effective way to support lay people in their decisions about health.
