Breast cancer screening: world experience and prospects

Abstract

Breast cancer screening (breast examination in potentially healthy women for early, preclinical detection of malignancies) was introduced in the 60s last century in the United States, and then in the number of countries in the world. Many years of experience has shown important clinical and prognostic value of mammographic screening programs for increasing the proportion of carcinoma in situ and breast cancer stage I, which led to significant improvement in the long-term survival. The review presents the main stages of the screening programs, differences in the organization of screening in different countries, and also gives the definition of «screening age,» high-risk factors for breast cancer appearing and possible intensification of early detection programs. The existing screening methods have described, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as highlighted possible areas for screening programs.