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Recording of hormone therapy and breast density in breast screening programs: summary and recommendations of the International Cancer Screening Network

  • Epidemiology
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An Erratum to this article was published on 15 June 2010

Abstract

Breast density and the use of hormone therapy (HT) for menopausal symptoms alter the risk of breast cancer and both factors influence screening mammography performance. The International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN) surveyed its 29 member countries and found that few programs record breast density or the use of HT among screening participants. This may affect the ability of programs to assess their effectiveness in reducing breast cancer mortality. Seven countries recorded the use of HT at screening, and some were able to link screening records to individual prescribing records of HT. Eight countries reported recording breast density at screening mammography for some or all women screened. The recommendations of the ICSN for recording information about breast density and HT are presented.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the following members of the International Cancer Screening Network who provided information about their screening programs: Julianne Quaine (Australia), Ronaldo Silva Correa (Brazil), Jay Onysko (Canada), Adam Svoboknik (Czech Republic), Elsebeth Lynge (Denmark), Dominik Deitz (Germany), Gad Rennert (Israel), Noriaki Hiroshi (Japan), Won Chul Lee (Korea), Jacques Fracheboud (Netherlands), Solveig Hofvind (Norway), Jean-Luc Bulliard (Switzerland), Sue Moss (United Kingdom), Rod Walker (United States), and Gonzalo Pou (Uruguay). We also thank Gretchen Keel at Information Management Systems, Inc. for her programing support for the development and synopsis of the web survey, and Kathy Sedgwick at NOVA Research Company for her logistical support for the working group. Brian Cox was supported by the Director’s Cancer Research Trust. We also acknowledge funding support for this project from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, United States. This study was partially supported by the National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) (U01CA63740, U01CA86076, U01CA86082, U01CA63736, U01CA70013, U01CA69976, U01CA63731, U01CA70040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hugh Adam Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Brian Cox

  2. Applied Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Rachel Ballard-Barbash, Emily Dowling & Stephen Taplin

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Technology Assessment, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands

    Mireille Broeders

  4. Mass Screening Registry, Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, 00130, Finland

    Nea Malila

  5. Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Nea Malila

  6. Ontario Breast Screening Program, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, MN 6G9, Canada

    Rene Shumak

  7. Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA

    Diana Buist & Diana Miglioretti

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  1. Brian Cox
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  2. Rachel Ballard-Barbash
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  9. Diana Miglioretti
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Correspondence to Brian Cox.

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This study was conducted on behalf of the International Cancer Screening Network.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-0979-8

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Cox, B., Ballard-Barbash, R., Broeders, M. et al. Recording of hormone therapy and breast density in breast screening programs: summary and recommendations of the International Cancer Screening Network. Breast Cancer Res Treat 124, 793–800 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-0893-0

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