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Organized Breast Cancer Screening Programs in Canada - 1996 Report

Organized Screening Programs in Canada

British Columbia was the first province to institute a provincial breast screening program in 1988, followed closely by Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Ontario, and Nova Scotia (see Table 1). Currently, all 10 provinces and the Yukon have organized breast screening programs. The Northwest Territories is in the process of implementing such a program. Breast cancer screening in all organized programs includes a two view screening mammogram. Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland also provide a clinical breast examination (CBE) carried out by a trained health professional, and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island provide a modified CBE by a technologist. In addition, all programs provide information and/or instruction on breast self-examination.

For the purposes of the Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Database, the target population is defined as asymptomatic women between the ages of 50 and 69 with no prior diagnosis of breast cancer. Some programs also screen women outside the target age groups. Provincial/territorial practices with regard to women outside the ages of 50 to 69 are presented in Table 2.

Table 1 Breast Cancer Screening Programs in Canada; Usual Practices in 1996
Program	Program Start Date	Mammography Interval	Clinical Breast Exam on Site	Target Population, Age
British Columbia*	1988	Annual	No	50-74
Yukon	1990	Biennial	No	50-69
Alberta	1990	Biennial	No	50-69
Saskatchewan	1990	Biennial	No	50-69
Manitoba	1995	Biennial	Nurse or technologist	50-69
Ontario	1990	Biennial	Nurse	50-69
New Brunswick	1995	Biennial	No	50-69
Nova Scotia	1991	Biennial	Technologist	50-69
Newfoundland	1996	Biennial	Nurse	50-69
Breast Cancer Screening Programs Started After 1996
Quebec	1998	Biennial	No	50-69
Prince Edward Island	1998	Biennial	Technologist	50-69
* In mid-1997 British Columbia changed its recall frequency for women aged 50+ years to biennial.

Table 2 Breast Cancer Screening Programs in Canada; Practices Regarding Women Outside the Target Age Group in 1996
Program	Program Practices Regarding Women Outside Target Age Range		Mammography Interval
British Columbia*	40-49 75-79 80+	Accept but do not actively recruit Recall but do not actively recruit Accept but do not recall	Annual Annual
Yukon	40-49 70+	Accept but do not actively recruit Accept but do not recall	Biennial Biennial
Alberta	40-49 70-74 75+	Accept but do not actively recruit Recall but do not actively recruit Accept but do not recall	Biennial Biennial
Saskatchewan	40-49 70+	Do not accept for screening Recall but do not actively recruit	N/A Biennial
Manitoba	40-49 70+	Do not accept for screening Do not accept for screening	N/A N/A
Ontario	40-49 70+	Do not accept for screening Accept but do not recall	N/A Biennial
New Brunswick	40-49 70+	Accept with physician referral Accept with physician referral	Biennial Biennial
Nova Scotia	40-49 70+	Accept but do not actively recruit Recall but do not actively recruit	Annual Biennial
Newfoundland	40-49 70-74	Do not accept for screening Recall but do not actively recruit	N/A Biennial
Breast Cancer Screening Programs Started After 1996
Quebec	40-49 70+	Accept with physician referral Accept with physician referral	Biennial Biennial
Prince Edward Island	40-49 70-74	Accept but do not actively recruit Recall but do not actively recruit	Annual Biennial
* In mid-1997 British Columbia changed its recall frequency for women aged 50+ from annual to biennial and changed the age at which it stops accepting women from no upper limit to age 79.

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