Overview

Every year, breast cancer kills more than 500,000 women around the world. In resource-poor settings, a majority of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease; their five-year survival rates are low, ranging from 10-40%. In settings where early detection and basic treatment are available and accessible, the five-year survival rate for early localized breast cancer exceeds 80%.

Breast cancer can be detected early through two strategies: early diagnosis and screening.

• Early diagnosis is based on improved public and professional awareness of signs and symptoms associated with cancer; it entails recognizing possible warning signs of cancer and taking prompt action.
• Screening involves the systematic use of testing, such as mammography, across an asymptomatic population to detect and treat cancer or pre-cancers.

The new WHO position paper examines the balance of benefits and harms in offering mammography screening to women after the age of 40 in a variety of settings.

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• Executive Summary
• Recommendations by age group and resource setting
  • 1 Women aged 50–69 years
  • 2 Women aged 40–49 years
  • 3 Women aged 70–75 years
• Introduction
• Objectives, target audience and scope
• Development process
  • Review groups
  • Management of conflict of interest
  • Decision-making
  • External review
  • Review of the evidence
• Evidence and recommendations
  • Evidence of benefits and harms
  • Evidence on screening interval
  • General considerations
• Recommendations by age and resource setting
  • 1 Women aged 50–69 years
  • 2 Women aged 40–49 years
  • 3 Women aged 70–75 years
  • Research priorities
• Dissemination and implementation
• Useful web resources
• References
• List of contributors
• Annex A Evidence to recommendations template
• Annex B Evidence Summary
  Benefits and harms of mammography screening: umbrella systematic review

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