Authors' recommendations: By screening is meant a systematically executed study of a more precisely defined health group of the population with a suitable test which can divide the population into persons with low or high risk of having the disease screened for. Persons with high risk will afterwards be diagnostically examined with other tests to ensure a definite diagnosis. For breast cancer there are no other essential risk factors than gender and age. It is therefore not possible to target a screening programme for a certain subgroup and thus, the activity must point to the entire female population. For such screening programmes WHO have in 1967 listed a number of demands which has to be fulfilled before the programme can be implemented. Further to this, a working group under the National Board of Health in 1990 listed a number of complementary demands for a screening programme. The effect of a screening programme is best evaluated from randomised studies and in total 8 such studies have been executed for mammography screening. With basis in the results from these studies countries like Sweden, Iceland, Finland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Norway have started national screening programmes. In Denmark, mammography screening was introduced in Copenhagen municipality in April 1991. Then the county of Funen followed in November 1993 and the municipality of Frederiksberg in June 1994. A committee appointed by the National Board of Health in 1994 recommended carrying out systematic gathering of experiences and evaluation of on-going and planned programmes as well as the development in counties without mammography screening. The National Board of Health therefore appointed a committee which presented a status report in November 1997. Here it is recommended that all females aged 50-69 years in all of Denmark eventually are included in organised mammography screening. In December 1999 the Folketing passed a Bill concerning introduction of mammography screening successively when adequate capacity had been established in each county. Subsequently decisions of introduction of mammography screening have been made in the counties of Western Zealand, Frederiksborg, and Bornholm. The aim of this present project was primarily to evaluate the economical and psycho social consequences of regular mammography screening of females aged 50-69 years from data derived from the first two rounds of the screening in Funen. However, the project was extended to include an evaluation of the radiological and clinical effect of the first two rounds of screening

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2004

URL for published report: http://www.sst.dk/publ/Publ2004/CEMTV_mammo_fyn.pdf

URL for additional information: http://www.sst.dk/English/DACEHTA/Publications_alphabetical_order/Screening%20for%20breast%20cancer.aspx

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Denmark

Organisation Name: Danish Centre for Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment

Contact Address: National Board of Health, PO Box 1881, Islands Brygge 67, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Tel: 45 72 22 74 48; Fax: 45 72 22 74 07/67

Contact Name: dacehta@sst.dk

Contact Email: dacehta@sst.dk

Copyright: Danish Centre for Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment (DACEHTA)