BreastCheck Programme Statistics 2004
The figures reported relate to those women contacted by BreastCheck between 1st January and 31st December 2004. Programme standards, against which performance is measured, are based on European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Mammography Screening (3rd Edition).
The Following Statistics' tables are available:
- Screening Activity Overall
- Screening Activity by Type Of Screen
- Screening Activity by Type of Screen And Age Group
- Screening Quality: First Screen
- Screening Quality: Subsequent Screen
- Screening Outcome: First Screen by Age Group
- Screening Outcome: Subsequent Screen by Age Group
- Cancers with Non-Operative Diagnosis
- Outcome of First Screens by Region
- Outcome of Subsequent Screens by Region
- Women's Charter Parameters
Screening Activity Overall
2004 saw sustained screening activity, with over 68,000 invited for screening and 50,540 attending. An increasing proportion of women attending are returning for a subsequent screening appointment, and so the expected number of cancers is lower in the screened population. The acceptance rates for the programme are in excess of the target of 70%. The standardised detection ratio, a measure of overall programme performance, remains well in excess of the standard of 0.75.
| Performance Parameter | 2004 |
| Number of women who deconsented following receipt of consent form | 984 |
| Number of women invited | 68,046 |
| Number of eligible women invited | 65,552 |
| Number of women attending for screening | 50,540 |
| Eligible women acceptance rate (includes deconsented women) * | 77.1% |
| Known target population acceptance rate | 73.1% |
| Number of women recalled for assessment | 1,687 |
| Number of benign biopsies | 57 |
| Number of cancers detected | 309 |
| Cancers detected per 1,000 women screened | 6.1 |
| Number of in situ cancers | 52 |
| Number of invasive cancers < 15mm | 125 |
| Standardised Detection Ratio | 1.05 |
* Details of the ineligible categories
Excluded - in follow up care for breast cancer, An Post not contactable, physically/mentally incapacitated or terminally ill.
Suspended - Extended vacation / working abroad, previous mammogram < 1 year, wishes to wait until next round, or unwilling to reschedule.
Screening Activity By Type Of Screen
A greater proportion of women invited and screened were returning for a subsequent screening with BreastCheck; again we see that the acceptance of invitation for such screening remains high. The acceptance rate among first invited women is lower, just marginally short of the target of 70%. Previous non-attenders are those women who failed to respond to an invitation to screening in a previous round; these women continue to receive invitations to screening and a much smaller proportion take up this further invitation. The acceptance rate for previous non-attenders of 29% is similar to that observed in other screening programmes.
| Performance Parameter | First Invited Population | Previous Non-Attenders | Subsequent Population |
| Number of women who deconsented | 122 | n/a | 862* |
| Number of women invited | 25,770 | 9,225 | 33,051 |
| Number of eligible women invited | 23,166 | 9,225 | 33,161 |
| Number of women screened | 18,069 | 2,676 | 29,795 |
| Eligible women acceptance rate (including deconsents) | 78.0% | 29.0% | 89.8% |
| Known target population acceptance rate | 69.8% | 29.0% | 87.9% |
* Deconsented in previous round of screening, but remain within target age group of 50-64 years.
Screening Activity By Type Of Screen And Age Group
Table 3(i) First Invited Population
Again in 2004 we saw highest acceptance rates in the younger age group, a pattern seen in other programmes.
| Performance Parameter | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
| Number of women who deconsented | 44 | 36 | 27 |
| Number of women invited | 15,834 | 5,344 | 4,092 |
| Number of eligible women invited | 14,833 | 4,508 | 3,422 |
| Number of women screened | 11,808 | 3,449 | 2,514 |
| Eligible women acceptance rate (including deconsents) | 79.6% | 76.5% | 73.5% |
| Known target population acceptance rate | 74.4% | 64.1% | 61.0% |
Table 3(ii) Previous Non-Attenders
Among previous non-attenders the highest acceptance rates are again seen in the lowest age group, but the numbers are relatively small throughout.
| Performance Parameter | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
| Number of previous non-attenders invited | 1,397 | 4,164 | 3,499 |
| Number of women screened | 570 | 1,200 | 832 |
| Known target population acceptance rate | 40.8% | 28.8% | 23.8% |
Table 3(iii) Subsequent Invite
Acceptance rates are similar and high in each of the three age groups among women who are returning for a subsequent screen.
| Performance Parameter | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
| Number of women who deconsented in previous round* | 181 | 315 | 365 |
| Number of ineligible women** | 178 | 372 | 328 |
| Number of eligible women invited | 7,474 | 14,386 | 10,904 |
| Number of women screened | 6,697 | 13,054 | 9,762 |
| Eligible women acceptance rate (including deconsents) | 89.6% | 90.7% | 89.5% |
| Known target population acceptance rate | 87.5% | 88.5% | 86.9% |
* deconsented in previous round, but remain in the target population
** identified as ineligible in previous round of screening or in this round, but remain in the target population
Screening Quality: First Screen
The Table gives the main screening quality parameters measured among women attending for screening for the first time. The percentage of women with small cancers (less than 15mm) is just short of the target of 40%. All other standards are met or exceeded. A greater proportion of women attending for screening are in the youngest age group, with a correspondingly lower overall expected cancer rate. This year we include invasive cancer detection rates for women in the 50-51 and 52-64 age ranges. The standards for these rate have been calculated in accordance with international best practice.
| Performance Parameter | 2004 | Standard |
| Number of women screened for first time | 20,745 | - |
| Number of women recalled for assessment | 1,025 | - |
| Recall rate | 4.9% | <7% |
| Number of benign open biopsies | 35 | - |
| Benign open biopsy rate per 1,000 women screened | 1.7 | <3.6 |
| Number of women diagnosed with cancer | 154 | - |
| Cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 7.4 | - |
| Number of women with in situ cancer (DCIS) | 28 | - |
| Pure DCIS detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 1.4 | - |
| Number of women diagnosed with DCIS as % of all women diagnosed with cancer | 18.2% | 10-20% |
| Number of women diagnosed with invasive cancer | 126 | - |
| Invasive cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 6.1 | - |
| Invasive cancer detection rate per 1,000 women aged 50-51 screened | 4.7 | >2.9 |
| Invasive cancer detection rate per 1,000 women aged 52-64 screened | 6.5 | >5.2 |
| Number of women with invasive cancers <15 mm | 47 | - |
| Number of women with invasive cancers <15 mm as % of all women with invasive cancers | 37.3% | ≥40% |
| Standardised Detection Ratio | 0.96 | 0.75 |
Screening Quality: Subsequent Screen
Among women returning for subsequent screening, recall rates and benign open biopsy rates remain low, and well within the standards. As in previous years invasive cancers made up a large proportion of all detected cancers and the invasive cancer detection rate exceeds the standard. Almost two-thirds of invasive cancers detected are very small, less than 15mm; this rate is similar to previous years. The standardised detection ratio remains high and well in excess of the standard.
| Performance Parameter | 2003 | Standard |
| Number of women screened for second time | 29,795 | - |
| Number of women recalled for assessment | 662 | - |
| Recall rate | 2.2% | <5% |
| Number of benign open biopsies | 22 | - |
| Benign open biopsy rate per 1,000 women screened | 0.7 | <2 |
| Number of women diagnosed with cancer | 155 | - |
| Cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 5.2 | - |
| Number of women with in situ cancer (DCIS) | 24 | - |
| Pure DCIS detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 0.8 | - |
| Number of women diagnosed with DCIS as % of all women diagnosed with cancer | 15.5% | 10-20% |
| Number of women diagnosed with invasive cancer | 131 | - |
| Invasive cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 4.4 | >2.4 |
| Number of women with invasive cancers <15mm | 78 | - |
| Number of women with invasive cancers <15 mm as % of all women with invasive cancers | 59.5% | ≥40% |
| Standardised detection ratio | 1.16 | 0.75 |
Screening Outcome: First Screen by Age Group
For women screened for the first time the numbers recalled for further assessment are well within the standard of <7% in all age groups. The benign open surgical biopsy rate remains very low in all age groups. Due to the fact that BreastCheck was returning for a subsequent screening round in most locations a much greater proportion of our first screened women are in the youngest age group of 50-54. In this age group we do not expect to find as many cancers, since cancer risk rises sharply with age. Some new women continue to enter the programme at older ages, either due to residence in a new screening area e.g. South Eastern Health Board area, or because they move into an active screening area and become known to the Programme.
| Performance Parameter | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
| Number of women screened | 12,378 | 4,649 | 3,346 |
| Percentage of women recalled for assessment | 5.2% | 4.7% | 4.4% |
| Benign open biopsy rate per 1,000 women screened | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| Overall cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 5.3 | 9.7 | 10.5 |
Screening Outcome: Subsequent Screen by Age Group
In women returning for a subsequent screening the recall rates are very low in all age groups and, as in previous years, well within the standard of <5%. Very small numbers of women in each age group underwent benign open surgical biopsy.As expected the cancer detection rate rises with age.
| Performance Parameter | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
| Number of women screened | 6,697 | 13,054 | 9,762 |
| Percentage of women recalled for assessment | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.1% |
| Benign open biopsy rate per 1,000 women screened | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Overall cancer detection rate per 1,000 women screened | 3.9 | 4.6 | 6.8 |
Cancers With Non-Operative Diagnosis
The number of women diagnosed without the need for an open surgical procedure continues to rise each year. The use of core biopsy and fine needle aspiration techniques means that women can know their diagnosis and make informed decisions regarding treatment options prior to any surgical intervention.
| Performance Parameter | Initial Screening | Subsequent Screening | Overall | Standard |
| Percentage of women with non-operative diagnosis of cancer | 92.9% | 97.4% | 95.1% | ≥70% |
Outcome of First Screens by Region
2004 saw the start of screening in the South Eastern Health Board area, with a great response in terms of uptake of first screening invitations. The acceptance rates were somewhat lower among women resident in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area and the North Eastern Health Board area.
| Region of Residence | Number of women screened | Acceptance rate: Eligible | Acceptance rate: Known Target Pop | Number of cancers detected | Cancers detected per 1,000 women |
| Eastern Regional Health Authority | 10,476 | 59.1% | 53.6% | 77 | 7.4 |
| Midland Health Board | 203 | 74.4% | 58.7% | 0 | 0.0 |
| North-Eastern Health Board | 3,696 | 53.7% | 49.3% | 35 | 9.5 |
| South Eastern Health Board | 6,366 | 86.1% | 82.1% | 42 | 6.6 |
Outcome of Subsequent Screens by Region
The majority of women invited for subsequent screening were resident in the former Eastern Regional Health Authority area and the North Eastern Health Board; uptake rates were high in both regions. The very small numbers of women invited from the Midland and South Eastern Health Board areas makes these rates less reliable.
| Region of Residence | Number of women screened | Acceptance rate: Eligible | Acceptance rate: Known Target Pop | Number of cancers detected | Cancers detected per 1,000 women |
| Eastern Regional Health Authority | 21,784 | 90.4% | 87.7% | 106 | 4.9 |
| Midland Health Board | 205 | 83.0% | 73.0% | 2 | 9.8 |
| North-Eastern Health Board | 7,785 | 91.3% | 88.2% | 47 | 6.0 |
| South Eastern Health Board | 17 | 53.1% | 51.5% | 0 | 0.0 |
Women's Charter Parameters
In 2004 BreastCheck's performance in relation to Women's Charter parameters was the best of all reported years to date. In particular the figure of 91.2% of women offered hospital admission for treatment represents a major increase and now exceeds the target for the first time. We see a much greater proportion of women receiving an invitation for repeat screening within the target of 21-27 months since previous screen. Although we fall short of the target, a further 4% of women were invited before 21 months, while 90% of women were invited within 28 months of the previous round.
| Performance Parameter | 2003 | Standard |
| % women who received 7 days notice of appointment | 97.8% | ≥90% |
| % women who were sent results of mammogram within 3 weeks | 98.3% | ≥90% |
| % women offered an appointment for Assessment Clinic within 2 weeks of notification of abnormal mammographic result | 99.4% | ≥90% |
| % women given results from Assessment Clinic within 1 week | 96.2% | ≥90% |
| % women offered hospital admission for treatment within 3 weeks of diagnosis of breast cancer | 91.2% | ≥90% |
| % women re-invited for screening within 21-27 months of invitation at previous round | 82.4% | ≥90% |
Download full Annual Report 2004: bc_areport04.pdf (.pdf file 850 kb, 56 pages)