Effectiveness of breast cancer screening policies in countries with medium-low incidence rates

Authors

  • Qingxia Kong Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. Escuela de Negocios
  • Susana Mondschein Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. Escuela de Ingeniería
  • Ana Pereira Universidad de Chile. Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/S1518-8787.2018052000378

Keywords:

Breast Neoplasms, epidemiology. Early Detection of Cancer. Mammography. Mass Screening. Preventive Health Services. Health Policy.

Abstract

Chile has lower breast cancer incidence rates compared to those in developed countries. Our public health system aims to perform 10 biennial screening mammograms in the age group of 50 to 69 years by 2020. Using a dynamic programming model, we have found the optimal ages to perform 10 screening mammograms that lead to the lowest lifetime death rate and we have evaluated a set of fixed inter-screening interval policies. The optimal ages for the 10 mammograms are 43, 47, 51, 54, 57, 61, 65, 68, 72, and 76 years, and the most effective fixed inter-screening is every four years after the 40 years. Both policies respectively reduce lifetime death rate in 6.4% and 5.7% and the cost of saving one life in 17% and 9.3% compared to the 2020 Chilean policy. Our findings show that two-year inter-screening interval policies are less effective in countries with lower breast cancer incidence; thus we recommend screening policies with a wider age range and larger inter-screening intervals for Chile.

Downloads

Published

2018-01-29

Issue

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

Kong, Q., Mondschein, S., & Pereira, A. (2018). Effectiveness of breast cancer screening policies in countries with medium-low incidence rates. Revista De Saúde Pública, 52, 7. https://doi.org/10.11606/S1518-8787.2018052000378