Data from Breast Cancer Stage and Size Detected with Film versus Digital Mammography in New South Wales, Australia: A Population-Based Study Using Routinely Collected Data

Abstract

<div>AbstractBackground:<p>Digital mammography has replaced film mammography in breast-screening programs globally, including Australia. This led to an increase in the rate of detection, but whether there was increased detection of clinically important cancers is uncertain.</p>Methods:<p>In this population-wide retrospective cohort study in New South Wales, Australia spanning 2004 to 2016 and including 4,631,656 screens, there were 22,965 cancers in women screened with film (<i>n</i> = 11,040) or digital mammography (<i>n</i> = 11,925). We examined the change in tumor characteristics overall and how these rates changed over time, accounting for changes in background rates using an interrupted time-series. Comparisons were made with unscreened women (<i>n</i> = 26,326) during this time.</p>Results:<p>We found increased detection of <i>in situ</i> cancer (3.36 per 10,000 screens), localized invasive, and smaller-sized breast cancers attributable to the change in mammography technology, whereas screen-detected intermediate-sized and metastatic breast cancers decreased. Rates of early-stage and intermediate-sized interval cancers increased, and late-stage (−1.62 per 10,000 screens) and large interval cancers decreased. In unscreened women, there were small increases in the temporal trends of cancers across all stages.</p>Conclusions:<p>At least some of the increased detection of smaller early-stage cancers may have translated into a reduction in larger and late-stage cancers, indicating beneficial detection of cancers that would have otherwise progressed. However, the increased detection of smaller early-stage and small cancers may also have increased over-diagnosis of lesions that would otherwise have not caused harm.</p>Impact:<p>Robust evaluation of potential benefits and harms is needed after changes to screening programs.</p><p><i><a href="https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/doi/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-23-1597" target="_blank">See related In the Spotlight, p. 638</a></i></p></div>