Harmonizing Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations: Metrics and Accountability

Abstract

Objective: The purposes of this article are to summarize breast cancer screening recommendations and discuss their differences and similarities and to explain the differences between two national databases to aid in interpretation of their benchmarks.

Conclusion: The American College of Radiology, American Cancer Society, and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force all agree that annual mammography beginning at age 40 saves the most lives, and all acknowledge a woman's right to choose when to begin and stop screening. The National Mammography Database (NMD) differs from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium database in that it acquires data using the same approach used by almost all mammography facilities in the United States. Therefore, NMD benchmarks, which include standard metrics, provide more meaningful comparisons to help mammography facilities and radiologists improve performance.

Keywords: breast cancer; guidelines; metrics; screening mammography.