Breast Cancer Screening Follow-up

Key findings

In 2017, over 6,600 Ontario women ages 50 to 74 who had an abnormal Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) screening mammogram result and needed tissue biopsy for a definitive diagnosis were diagnosed within the recommended 7 weeks of their abnormal screening result.
That represents approximately 8 out of 10 (78%) women who needed a tissue biopsy after their mammogram. However, Ontario is still below the national target rate of 90%.
This indicator has remained steady, between 77% and 80%, since 2014.

Why is this important to Ontarians?

For every 200 women screened in the Ontario Breast Screening Program, about 18 are sent for more tests and one will have breast cancer.
Not having a timely follow-up can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Waiting for a diagnosis can be stressful. Getting timely follow-up can help lower stress for patients and their families.

See Breast Cancer Screening Follow-up Methodology for technical information.

Report date: December 2018
Data source: Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Claims History Database (CHDB), Integrated Client Management System (ICMS), Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR), Ontario Registered Persons Database (RPDB), Postal Code Conversion File Plus (PCCF+ version 6D)
Prepared by: Analytics, Cancer Screening, Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario

Data Table 1: Percentage of Ontario screen-eligible women with an abnormal OBSP screening mammogram result, ages 50 to 74, who needed a tissue biopsy and were diagnosed within 7 weeks of the abnormal screen date, 2014 to 2017
Year	Percentage (%)
2014	76.9
2015	79.3
2016	79.6
2017	78

Data Table 1: Percentage of Ontario screen-eligible women with an abnormal OBSP screening mammogram result, ages 50 to 74, who needed a tissue biopsy and were diagnosed within 7 weeks of the abnormal screen date, 2014 to 2017

Results

In 2017, 78% of women who needed a tissue biopsy were diagnosed within 7 weeks of their abnormal screening mammogram result; this falls below the national target of 90%.
Timely follow-up is consistent across age groups: As in previous years, follow-up (with tissue biopsy) within 7 weeks was similar across age groups in 2017. It was lowest in women ages 50 to 54 (74%) and highest in women ages 70 to 74 (82%).

Opportunities

Cancer Care Ontario will continue to monitor timely follow-up of abnormal results and work with regional partners (e.g., regional cancer programs and sites) to improve performance.