Only a small number of women who had a mammogram were diagnosed with cancer, according to screening clinic director Nadine Delicata.
About five per cent of women who had their breasts screened at the government clinic were called in for a medical consultation and of these only four per cent actually had cancer, Dr Delicata said.
The figures for breast cancer fall in line with international statistics of seven women testing positive out of 1,000 screened women.
Dr Delicata was speaking during an official visit by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Mrs Gonzi and Health Minister Joe Cassar to the breast screening clinic in Lascaris Wharf, Valletta.
About 30,000 women will be called for screening over a period of three years - just over 1,000 women are screened every month - after the breast screening programme for women aged between 50 and 59 years was set up five months ago.
So far, there already has been an encouraging take up of 50 per cent of women called in to be tested, a level which some UK clinics took years to reach, Dr Delicata said.
Although it is a treatment centre, the atmosphere and decor are far from clinical. The walls are painted in warm, bright colours with comfortable chairs scattered around.
If one of the women happens to be positive for cancer, she is called in to meet the doctors and the news is broken to her in "the quiet room". No lab coats or stethoscopes enter this softly-lit room, filled with big sofas where the patient is informed of her situation with supportive words.
The clinic also has a custom-made IT programme that automatically schedules appointments and mails them to the clients. Women could also register their family doctor and choose to have a copy of the results sent to him/her, Dr Delicata explained.
The mammograms are read by two independent doctors and results are sent within two weeks. The results are very simple to read: either the woman is informed of her next appointment or she is asked to attend for a second test. Being recalled did not necessarily mean that the woman had cancer, Dr Delicata said. "It might mean that she needs a biopsy or another mammogram, for example."