In a new study by UK’s NHS, more than 7,000 women were found to be misdiagnosed with breast cancer.  Researchers claim that thousands of women who get routine breast cancer screenings are mistakenly told that they have life-threatening cancer and undergo unnecessary treatment each year.

In the cases cited by the study, women who have non-malignant tumors undergo surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy — treatments that are potentially harmful themselves. The non-life threatening tumors can alternatively be removed by conventional methods.

Researchers are suggesting improvements in treatment, rather than detection through screening, however. The study cautions physicians from ‘over-diagnosing’ their patients.