Ultrasound for breast cancer screening in high-risk women: Results from a population-based cancer screening program in China

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound is an important modality for breast cancer screening. However, the evidence on the effectiveness of ultrasound screening in population-based cancer screening program in lacking. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of ultrasound screening in a population-based breast cancer screening in China. Methods: The analyses were conducted in the context of the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China, which recruited 1,938,996 eligible participants aged 40-69 years from 16 provinces in China from 2012 to 2016. We included 72,250 women assessed to be high-risk for breast cancer who undertook ultrasound screening per study protocol. Diagnostic yield according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) was evaluated. Risk factors associated with the positive findings of ultrasound were also explored by univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: Overall, there were 9,765 (13.51%) women had positive findings of ultrasound screening, including 8,487 (11.75%), 1,210 (1.67%), and 68 (0.09%) of BI-RADS categories of III, IV, and V, respectively. Younger ages, late age of 1st live birth and short-term breast feeding were found to be positively associated with positive findings under ultrasound in multivariate analyses stratified by menopause status and family history of breast cancer. Multivariable prediction models were constructed and yielded only modest prediction accuracy, with AUCs around 0.55. Conclusions: We found the diagnostic yield of ultrasound screening for breast cancer in high-risk population was satisfactory. Prediction models based on environmental risk factors had limited prediction accuracy and need to be improved in the future.