Journal: Korean journal of radiology
This review article describes China’s population-based breast cancer screening efforts since their launch in 2009, set against the backdrop of the country’s very high breast cancer incidence and second-highest global mortality burden.
Key points:
- Screening population and evolution of the program
- Initially focused on rural women.
- From 2019, expanded to include both rural and urban women aged 35–64 years as part of a national public health initiative.
- Screening modalities and rationale
- Program relies on a combination of mammography and breast ultrasonography.
- Mammography remains the evidence-based standard, but its use is constrained by resource limitations and workforce availability.
- Ultrasonography has a major role because of:
- Limited mammography capacity, particularly outside large urban centers.
- High prevalence of dense breast tissue in the target population, where US has diagnostic advantages.
- Implementation experience and achievements
- The review summarizes how screening has been rolled out across regions and health-care levels, and how US has been integrated into workflows.
- It highlights increases in screening coverage and early detection as major achievements, although precise performance metrics are not given in the abstract.
- Role of ultrasonography within the screening framework
- US is used not just as a diagnostic adjunct, but as a primary screening tool in many settings.
- The article evaluates its contribution to detection in dense breasts and in areas with inadequate mammography resources, while acknowledging mammography as the standard where available.
- Challenges and future directions
- The review identifies key operational and structural challenges, including uneven resource distribution, quality assurance, and optimization of modality use.
- It discusses directions for improving program effectiveness, refining the role of US, and potentially informing breast cancer screening strategies in other countries with similar resource constraints and population characteristics.