Breast cancer screening in developing countries

Abstract

Developing countries have limited healthcare resources and use different strategies to diagnose breast cancer. Most of the population depends on the public healthcare system, which affects the diagnosis of the tumor. Thus, the indicators observed in developed countries cannot be directly compared with those observed in developing countries because the healthcare infrastructures in developing countries are deficient. The aim of this study was to evaluate breast cancer screening strategies and indicators in developing countries.A systematic review and the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Timing, and Setting methodology were performed to identify possible indicators of presentation at diagnosis and the methodologies used in developing countries. We searched PubMed for the terms “Breast Cancer” or “Breast Cancer Screening” and “Developing Country” or “Developing Countries”.In all, 1,149 articles were identified. Of these articles, 45 full articles were selected, which allowed us to identify indicators related to epidemiology, diagnostic intervention (diagnostic strategy, diagnostic infrastructure, percentage of women undergoing mammography), quality of intervention (presentation of symptoms at diagnosis, time to diagnosis, early stage disease), comparisons (trend curves, subpopulations at risk) and survival among different countries.The identification of these indicators will improve the reporting of methodologies used in developing countries and will allow us to evaluate improvements in public health related to breast cancer.

A Survey on the Relationship between Religiosity and Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Study in Iranian Muslims

“…[ 1 ] The incidence rate of breast cancer is increasing, both in developed and developing countries. [ 2 ] In the Islamic Republic of Iran, a developing country, breast cancer has been the most prevalent cancer among women in the past few decades, with a rising incidence and mortality rate. [ 3 4 ] Based on the last national cancer registry report in Iran, the incidence of breast cancer increased from 16.0 to 28.3/100,000 from 1995 to 2010, and the general mortality rate increased during 2003–2009 from 0.96 to 4.33/100,000.…”

Cost- Effectiveness of Mammography Screening Program in a Resource-Limited Post-Soviet Country of Kazakhstan

“…This analysis supports a patient-centered decision-making to judge the benefits of the mammography screening while taking into consideration its financial and non-financial burden. Countries with established mammography screening programs are more likely to identify cases of breast cancer at an earlier stages compared to countries that did not introduce national screening (Vieira et al, 2017).…”

Importance of microcalcifications in mammographic differentiation of the invasive ductal breast cancer and of the ductal carcinoma in situ

“…Breast cancer is a global problem, and 1.7 million new cases are diagnosed per year (23). Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and ranks second in cancer-related deaths after colon cancer (24).…”