Performance of Mammography Breast Cancer Screening System in Ishikawa Prefecture

Abstract

In Ishikawa Prefecture, mammography breast cancer screening was started tentatively in three pilot towns in 1999, and since 2004 it has been performed in all cities, towns and villages. The results of screenings in the prefecture carried out up to 2007 were analyzed.
During the 9-year period from 1999 through 2007, a total of 131,115 women underwent screening, the rate of closed examination was 13.8%, the rate of responders for closed examination 89.3%, the cancer detection rate was 0.30%, and the proportion of early cancers was 67.9%.
We have endeavored to improve the quality of breast cancer screening by careful selection of the reading doctors, maintaining good teamwork between screening institutions and reading doctors and that of individual screening institutions, and extensive introduction of mammography technicians at sites where film reading is conducted.
Along with further promotion of these efforts, we anticipate that we will be able to accommodate any increase in the number of responders.