Implementing mammography screening
The ECIBC's Guidelines Development Group (GDG) recommends using an organised mammography screening programme for early detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic women (strong recommendation, moderate certainty of the evidence).
Breast cancer screening programmes should maintain clear lines of communication with all care providers (ungraded good practice statement).
Reading mammograms
In the context of an organised screening programme, the ECIBC's Guidelines Development Group (GDG) suggests:
- using double reading (with consensus or arbitration for discordant readings) to screen mammograms for early detection of breast cancer (conditional recommendation, moderate certainty of the evidence)
- mammography readers read between 3 500 and 11 000 mammograms annually (conditional recommendation, very low certainty of the evidence)
Training of healthcare professionals
The ECIBC's Guideline Development Group (GDG) suggests communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with women who undergo screening mammography (conditional recommendation, very low certainty of the evidence).
Only professionals with specialised training in the area they practice should provide care to women participating in breast cancer screening programmes, breast cancer diagnostic services or screening assessment services (ungraded good practice statement).