The steady increase of cases and toll of deaths due to breast cancer in the last decades has prompted to analyze in depth current screening methods and their contributions to decrease mortality rates. A literature review was performed at the Ovid-Medline, Cochrane, Synergy, Medic Latina, Science Direct, EBSCO-e-Journal services. The review focused on the epidemiology of breast cancer, its risk factors and the benefits and limitations of current screening methods. The literature review had the aim to contribute in updating primary care practitioners concerning effective screening methods to timely detect breast cancer.