Breast Cancer Screening: Implications and Clinical Perspectives

BackgroundIn the developed countries, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women and the global incidence of breast cancer is still increasing worldwide. Breast cancers can be detected during breast cancer screening program which offers the best chance to treat the disease at an earlier stage. Currently, there is no established breast cancer screening program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.ObjectiveTo address the objective significance of breast cancer screening, which detects and localizes breast cancer through a well-structured system of public awareness and follow up program? Treatment of breast cancer at an early stage will provide the maximum chance of cancer-cure with resultant better prognosis.MethodsA systematic literature search of English-language articles on MEDLINE, the Cochrane database of evidence-based reviews, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects was performed for the period 1988-2008. Keywords”breast cancer”,”breast cancer screening program”,”mammography”, and”PET scan” were used for literature review. The breast cancer screening programs in various regions of the world were explored regarding the components of the screening program, strengths and weaknesses of each component, and the inference derived from the literature.ConclusionBreast cancer screening program has a well-established role in the detection of early, impalpable, and asymptomatic lesions with consequent reduction of cancer-associated morbidity and mortality.