Radiologic findings of screen-detected cancers in an organized population-based screening mammography program in Turkey

Poor Biological Factors and Prognosis of Interval Breast Cancers: Long-Term Results of Bahçeşehir (Istanbul) Breast Cancer Screening Project in Turkey

PURPOSE

The Turkish Bahçeşehir Breast Cancer Screening Project was a 10-year, organized, population-based screening program carried out in Bahçeşehir county, Istanbul. Our aim was to examine the biologic features and outcome of screen-detected and interval breast cancers during the 10-year study period.

METHODS

Between 2009 and 2019, 2-view mammograms were obtained at 2-year intervals for women aged 40 to 69 years. Clinicopathological characteristics including ER, PR, HER2-neu, and Ki-67 status were analyzed for those diagnosed with breast cancer.

RESULTS

In 8,758 screened women, 131 breast cancers (1.5%) were detected. The majority of patients (82.3%) had prognostic stage 0-I disease. Contrarily, patients with interval cancers (n = 15; 11.4%) were more likely to have a worse prognostic stage (II-IV disease; odds ratio [OR], 3.59, 95% CI, 0.9 to 14.5) and high Ki-67 scores (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 0.9 to 11.2). Interval cancers detected within 1 year were more likely to have a luminal B (57.1% v 31.9%) and triple-negative (14.3% v 1%) subtype and less likely to have a luminal A subtype (28.6% v 61.5%; P = .04). Patients with interval cancers had a poor outcome in 10-year disease-specific (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with those with screen-detected cancers (DSS: 68.2% v 98.1%, P = .002; DFS: 78.6% v 96.5%, P = .011).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest the majority of screen-detected breast cancers exhibited a luminal A subtype profile with an excellent prognosis. However, interval cancers were more likely to have aggressive subtypes such as luminal B subtype or triple-negative cancers associated with a poor prognosis requiring other preventive strategies.

Impact of breast cancer awareness month on detection of breast cancer in a private hospital

Objective

Breast cancer awareness month increases public awareness in association with increased rates of screening and new diagnoses. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of breast cancer awareness month on primary diagnosis of breast cancer.

Methods

Asymptomatic women with the intention of breast cancer screening were included. The non-BCAM (Breast cancer awareness month) group were screened from February to September 2016 and the BCAM group during October 2016. Ultrasound and mammography were performed in all women and in those aged ≥ 40 years, respectively. A BIRADS (Breast Imaging Reporting And Data Systems) score of ≥4 and solid palpable masses without features suggestive of malignancy and/or the physician’s preference were regarded as indications for histopathological analysis. Requirement for histopathological analysis and detection of breast cancer were identified as the main variables.

Results

There were 198 women with a mean age of 49.3 ± 9.5 years. Sixty-nine and 129 women were in the non-BCAM and BCAM groups, respectively. Percutaneous biopsy was performed in seven (10.1%) and three patients (2.3%) in the non-BCAM and BCAM groups, respectively (P = 0.035). Pathological examinations were benign.

Conclusion

Although public awareness campaigns lead to increased rates of screening, they may lose their impact on detecting breast cancer because of widespread use of routine screening programs.