Breast cancer screening program in Canada: Successes and challenges

Abstract

This paper describes breast screening program development in Canada and the current status of screening in Canada. Programs have been implemented in most of Canada, beginning in the late 1980's. Certain components are common to all the programs, but others, such as personal invitation letters for recruitment and clinical breast examination vary across the country. Key successes in organized breast screening in Canada include the development of a comprehensive set of screening performance indicators, which are reported on regularly, and the downward trend in mortality rates observed over the past 20 years. Challenges include the continued prevalence of opportunistic screening; the need to better manage follow-up; dealing with changing evidence; and supporting informed decision-making about screening. Approaches to breast screening are dependent on the health care services available in countries, but regardless of the approach, good evaluation is necessary.