Table 1.
Summary of breast cancer screening programs in selected countries and documented COVID-19 disruption.
| Country | Screening protocol | National screening program pauses | COVID-19 disruption referencesSource |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Digital mammography, biennial screening from age 40, targeted to 50–74 (some targeted annual screening) | 1 month (March–April) | https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer-screening/cancer-screening-and-covid-19-in-australia/contents/how-has-covid-19-affected-australias-cancer-screening-programs |
| Brazil | Mammography, biennial screening from age 50–69, opportunistic | Not applicable as not national screening program | https://www.inca.gov.br/sites/ufu.sti.inca.local/files//media/document//nota-tecnica-rastreamento-covid-didepre-09-jul-2020.pdf |
| Canada | Implementation of screening is by provincial and territorial governments and varies between jurisdictions. Broadly, women are screened 50–74 biennially, some programs offer screening for 40–49 (annual or biennual) and some programs offer targeted screening for high-risk women (https://www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca/topics/breast-cancer-screening-environmental-scan-2018/#) | ~4 months (March–June) exact start and stop dates dictated by the health ministries of each of the provinicial and territorial governments |
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0846537120928864 https://cbcn.ca/en/covid-19-resources |
| Germany | Digital mammography, biennial screening from age 50–69; invitation-based central organized program | 2 months (March–April) |
https://www.kbv.de/html/1150_45157.php https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/111395/Mammografie-Screening-voruebergehend-ausgesetzt |
| Italy | Biennial mammography screening age 50–69; also annual screening age 45–49 and biennial age 70–74 in some regions | 2 months (March–April) but later resume in some areas since screening program organization is under the responsibility of regional and/or local health authorities |
https://www.osservatorionazionalescreening.it/content/ons-la-ripartenza-programmi-screening#monitoraggi http://www.epiprev.it/materiali/suppl/2020_EP5-6S2/344-352_ART-Battisti.pdf |
| Mexico | Mammography, annual screening from age 40–69, opportunistic | Not applicable as not national screening program | Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-041-SSA2–2011 (in review) https://www.senado.gob.mx/64/gaceta_del_senado/documento/101991 |
| The Netherlands | Mammography (digital/tomosynthesis), biennial screening from age 50–75; alternative modalities, intervals and age ranges possible | 4 months (March–June) |
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-8049(20)30561-X; https://jhoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13045-020-00984-1 https://www.clinical-breast-cancer.com/article/S1526-8209(20)30207-X/pdf |
| United Kingdom | Breast screening 2-view digital mammography every 3 years in women 50–69 years of age; women over 70 can self refer | 6 months; March–August | https://www.gov.scot/news/breast-cancer-screening-to-resume/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer-screening/ |
| USA | Multiple, but American Cancer Society guidelines state: Women aged 40 to 44 should have the choice to start mammography screening annually.; women aged 45 to 54 years should be screened with mammography annually. Women aged 55 years and older should transition to biennial screening or have the opportunity to continue screening annually. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/pdf/breast-cancer-screening-guidelines-508.pdf | Not applicable as not national screening program | Abstract S11–03: Impact of COVID-19 on breast and prostate cancer screening and early detection in a large health care provider group Mara M. Epstein, Devi Sundaresan, Meagan fair, Lawrence Garber, Mary Charpentier, Jerry H. Gurwitz and Terry S. field Clin Cancer res September 152,020 (26) (18 supplement) S11–03; DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.COVID-19-S11–03 |