German Mammography Screening Program

Abstract

How come I’ve got a tumor? I was only just screened.” Probably every woman has heard something like this from a friend or a neighbor, and in some cases it may make the difference between going for screening mammography or not. The aim of the German mammography screening program is to achieve a lasting decrease in breast cancer mortality. The program’s success, however, can be accurately evaluated only after at least 10 years have elapsed. Therefore other criteria, the so-called surrogate parameters defined in the European guidelines (1) and adapted for use in the German program, are employed to assess the quality and efficacy of screening at an early point in time. The Mammography Cooperative (Kooperationsgemeinschaft Mammographie) evaluates the relevant data according to section 23 paragraph 1 of the cancer screening guideline and publishes the findings in regular reports (2).