Population-based breast cancer screening not necessarily best for poorer countries
There is increasing pressure from national and international advocacy groups on low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to implement population-based mammography screening. But according to an article in The Lancet Oncology, this "one-size-fits-all" approach although proven to be effective in high-income countries would be impractical in most LMCs and an ineffective use of limited health-care resources. A better solution might be to raise awareness and encourage more women with breast symptoms to seek and receive timely treatment.
Globally, breast cancer is the most common female cancer accounting for an estimated 1.4 million cases each year, with more than half of the 400 000 breast-cancer deaths occurring in LMICs. Breast-cancer screening programmes are regularly used in high-income countries where the incidence of breast cancer is highest. However, the value and practicality of such screening programmes in LMICs is less clear. Women in LMICs have a lower risk of breast cancer but tend to be diagnosed at a later stage when curative treatments are less likely to work.
Read the whole article at ecancer.org
Reference
- Harford, J. B. (2011). Breast-cancer early detection in low-income and middle-income countries: do what you can versus one size fits all The Lancet Oncology DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70273-4
Keywords: mammography screening, low- and middle-income countries, breast cancer
2. 3. 2011 ecancer.org
