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Breast cancer screening of women aged 70–74 years: results from a natural experiment across Australia

  • Epidemiology
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Abstract

There is a lack of evidence regarding the optimal age at which to cease mammographic screening for breast cancer. This ecological study compared Australian state and territory level screening participation rates and cancer outcomes from 1996 to 2005 to identify the extent to which screening women aged 70–74 results in smaller, earlier stage breast cancers. With each 10 % absolute increase in screening participation, there was no significant difference in cancer incidence, but the incidence of large cancers was 8 % lower (IRR = 0.92, 95 % CI 0.90–0.94, p < 0.001); there was some evidence of reduced nodal involvement at diagnosis (IRR 0.97, 95 % CI 0.95–0.99, p = 0.004) but this estimate was sensitive to assumptions regarding missing data. Increased mammographic screening of women aged 70–74 years reduces the incidence of large (>15 mm) cancers—and possibly cancers with nodal involvement—without a concomitant increase in overall cancer incidence.

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Acknowledgments

This analysis was originally commissioned by BreastScreen Victoria, with additional funds from National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Project Grant 509357). BreastScreen Victoria played no part in the study beyond providing funding. Ethical approval was not required because the study used secondary, population-level aggregate data.

Conflict of interest

AK and CN initially conducted this analysis through funding provided by BreastScreen Victoria.

Ethics

This study complies with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) (updated 2009) as per the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.

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Correspondence to Carolyn Nickson.

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Nickson, C., Mason, K.E. & Kavanagh, A.M. Breast cancer screening of women aged 70–74 years: results from a natural experiment across Australia. Breast Cancer Res Treat 143, 367–372 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-013-2794-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-013-2794-5

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