Abstract
The number of women developing breast cancer, and also the number of those dying from the disease, are increasing year by year. Therefore the significance and expectations of breast cancer screening aimed at early detection and treatment are greater than ever, and quality control of screening is quite important. A randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of ultrasonography is performed in Japan. There are two systems for ultrasound screening of breast cancer. In one, physicians themselves perform an ultrasound scan and diagnosis at the same time, and in the other sonographers perform the scan and physicians interpret the findings. When judging ultrasound images, physicians are trained to drop cases that do not require additional examination, based on a number of precisely defined criteria. This is reflected in the recall rate, which is a numerical indicator of the efficiency of the examination and medical cost-effectiveness. In 2002, westarted an ultrasonographic breast cancer screening program in Chiba prefecture. The recall rate was initially higher than 10%, but recently it has been maintained at around the 3% mark. In the interests of examination efficiency, the physician needs to have good communication and a relationship of mutual trust with sonographers. Furthermore, sonographers need to be well trained and to possess the ability to build an efficient system for breast cancer screening using ultrasonography. In order to acquire these skills, it is a not enough to merely become a specialist and to complete an educational program, and these represent only the minimum qualifications. It is necessary for physicians to work in a wide range of fields including the training of sonographers and screening program management in order to perform ultrasound breast screening precisely and efficiently.
