Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare breast cancer outcomes among women subject to different policies on mammography screening frequency.
Setting: Data were obtained for women participating in the Screening Mammography Programme of British Columbia (SMPBC) for 1988--2005. The SMPBC changed its policy for women aged 50-79 years from annual to biennial mammography in 1997, but retained an annual recommendation for women aged 40-49 years.
Methods: Breast cancer outcomes were compared for women participating in the programme before and after 1997 for two groups: ages 40-49 and 50-79 years.
Results: There were data on 658,151 women. Comparing pre-1997 and post-1997, the median interscreen interval increased by 11.1 months in women 50-79 but by only 0.3 months in women aged 40-49. Excluding those detected at initial screen, 6291 breast cancers were identified. Comparing pre-1997 and post-1997: the relative rates (RR) of screen detected cancer increased in women aged 40-49 (RR = 1.32) and the rate of invasive cancers > or =20 mm at diagnosis decreased (RR = 0.83); the rate of cancers with axillary node involvement increased in women aged 50-79 (RR = 1.23). Cancer survival improved after 1997 for women diagnosed at ages 40-49 (hazard ratio = 0.62), but was unchanged for women aged 50-79. Breast cancer mortality rates did not change between the periods in either age group.
Conclusion: The proximal cancer outcomes considered (staging and survival) improved in women aged 40-49 but this was offset in women aged 50-79 associated with the change in screen frequency. These changes did not result in alterations in breast cancer mortality rates in either age group.