The delegate of the Government of the Junta de Andalucía in Almería, Aránzazu Martín, has encouraged women between 50 and 71 years of age to participate in breast cancer screening, on the occasion of World Breast Cancer Day, which takes place today, October 19. Thus, she has highlighted “the need to continue advancing in research, as has been done, since it has been proven that cancer caught in time with the medical advances that exist must be cured.” In addition, she has insisted on “the importance of having regular check-ups, since prevention is the best cure for this disease.”
Martín explained that the Andalusian health system has carried out 617,833 mammograms from January 2023 to the end of September 2024, which have allowed the detection of 1,983 cases of cancer within the Early Detection Program for Breast Cancer of the Ministry of Health and Consumption. The delegate has valued the Program, which provides for the performance of mammograms every two years to the entire target population (women between 50 and 71 years old), and whose main objective is to reduce mortality from this cancer, but also allows to improve the quality of life of women diagnosed and treated by detecting tumors at an early stage.
From January to September this year, in Andalusia, where 98,511 active cases were treated last year, a total of 1,470 breast reconstruction interventions have been performed. In 2023, 1,818 were performed and in 2022, 1,797 women benefited from this SAS service. In total, 427,743 women have been invited to participate, which represents a response rate of 58.28%.
At the end of April last year, the target population for these screenings was extended to women aged 70 to 71, so that currently this target population is 50 to 71 years old. By August 2024, 25,999 women in the 70-71 age group had been invited and 14,649 had responded to the invitation by undergoing a mammogram.
The aim is to gradually incorporate lower age groups to extend coverage to women aged 47 to 49. To this end, the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) is managing the purchase of mammograms with tomosynthesis, a technique that increases the detection and accuracy in the diagnosis of breast tumours in the population under 50 years of age. During 2023, 28 mammograms were purchased, 26 with tomosynthesis, which entailed a total investment of 7,334,910 euros. In 2024, another 17 mammograms have been purchased, all of them with tomosynthesis, for a total amount of 3,338,946.65 euros.
The SAS is also executing a contract for breast cancer screening in mobile units, the investment for which, so far in 2024, has been 795,566.97 euros. The contracted mobile units have carried out a total of 45,177 studies this year. In parallel, work is being done on the specific training of radiologists in the interpretation of mammograms performed with tomosynthesis, with the expectation of training 145 radiologists before the end of 2024.
During this period, the possibility of requesting genomic panels for a more precise approach to breast cancer treatment has been incorporated, as well as access to more personalized and less toxic systemic treatments, as well as the performance of breast reconstruction techniques that are adapted to the characteristics of each patient in a more individualized and precise way (with own tissues, new prostheses, fat autografts). The SAS has also increased the number of patients undergoing the micropigmentation technique in its centers, which completes the total reconstruction of the breast by redesigning the areola and nipple after oncological surgery.
Breast Cancer Early Detection Program
The Early Detection Program for Breast Cancer, which provides for mammograms to be performed every two years in the entire target population (women aged between 50 and 71), has the main objective of reducing mortality from breast cancer, but also improves the quality of life of women diagnosed and treated by detecting tumors at an early stage, increasing conservative surgeries and avoiding unnecessary lymphadenectomies, as well as the indication of surface-guided radiotherapy and selective biopsy of the sentinel node, benefiting a large number of patients by requiring a less aggressive approach.
The Andalusian Government is carrying out, both in 2023 and 2024, campaigns to disseminate the Cancer Strategy in Andalusia, with descriptive videos and testimonials on different cancer screening programmes (breast, colon and cervix), with the aim of encouraging the population likely to participate in these early cancer detection programmes. These videos are available on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Health and Consumption.
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumour in Andalusian women, as it is in the rest of Spain and Europe. With the knowledge currently available, it is not possible to adopt preventive measures to prevent the disease from appearing, but fortunately it is possible to detect it in early stages when it has not yet produced symptoms and, by applying the appropriate treatment, to improve the prognosis by increasing survival. Early detection allows more conservative and less mutilating surgery to be performed in most cases.