Continued delays in breast cancer population screening could cause dozens of deaths

The RIVM is still struggling to eliminate delays in inviting women to the breast cancer screening program. On average, women were invited every 29 months last year, instead of the target of every 24 months. As a result, there will eventually be up to 60 breast cancer deaths per year that could have been prevented.

The causes of the delay are a shortage of screening staff and backlogs that arose during the coronavirus pandemic when the screening program was paused. The result is that breast cancer is discovered later in some cases, meaning more intensive treatments and more deaths.

According to the RIVM, the delay will eventually lead to 30 to 60 deaths per year that could have been prevented. The RIVM does not expect to be able to get back to the 2-year target any time soon, a spokesperson told NOS.

The intention is that women between 50 and 75 get invited to the screening program every 24 months. The RIVM has been unable to meet that target since 2019. In 2021, the Ministry of Public Health temporarily extended this period to a maximum of 36 months. But even that target is hard to achieve. Last year, one in twenty women received their invitation after more than three years.

Breast cancer screening caught 6,300 cases of cancer last year, the RIVM said. Over 840,000 women were screened - over two-thirds of the women who were invited. According to the RIVM, the screening prevents around 1,300 deaths per year.

In July, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) published a report, warning that the quality of breast cancer screening was under pressure because there was too much focus on catching up on the backlog.

In September, it turned out that screeners weren’t informing women with dense breast tissue that they were at higher risk of breast cancer. State Secretary Vincent Karremans of Public Health said this week that he would consult with the Health Council and the patient association BVN about whether to inform women with dense breast tissue after all.