There has been a considerable decline in mortality from breast
and cervical cancers in Australian women since the introduction of
the BreastScreen Australia and the National Cervical Screening
programs, according to the latest figures released today by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Earlier detection and treatment are considered to have
contributed to this decline because of the high participation by
women in the screening programs. Significant advances in diagnosis
and treatment for these conditions also played a part in the
mortality decline.
Over 1.5 million women participated in BreastScreen Australia
screening in 2000 and 2001. Of these women, just over 1 million
were in the screening target age group of 50-69 years.
Over 3 million women participated in Pap smear screening for
cervical cancer-related abnormalities during the same period,
almost all of them (98%) in the target age range of 20-69
years.
Dr Chris Stevenson, of the AIHW's Health Registers and Cancer
Monitoring Unit, said that early detection of breast cancer and of
high grade abnormalities related to cervical cancer meant that
treatment could commence earlier and be more effective. Breast and
cervical cancers detected in the early stages were also less likely
to spread to other parts of the body.
'In 2001, 65% of women with a screen-detected breast cancer in
the target age group were women with early stage small cancers
rather than the potentially more dangerous later-stage larger
cancers. Women who had previously been screened had a higher
proportion of small rather than larger invasive cancers detected
than women who had not been screened before (67% compared with
56%).
There was an increase in breast cancer incidence rates for women
in the target age group in 2001, while the mortality rate for the
target age group declined from 67 deaths per 100,000 women in 1988
to 52 deaths per 100,000 women in 2001.
Mortality from cervical cancer declined by nearly 53% between
1982 and 2001 (from 6 deaths per 100,000 women in 1982 to 3 deaths
per 100,000 women in 2001).
Dr Stevenson said, however, that some areas of concern
remained.
'Although cervical cancer incidence and death rates have
continued to decline in all areas of Australia, women in the target
age group from remote locations experienced a relatively high
mortality rate from cervical cancer-3 deaths per 100,000 compared
with 2.3 deaths per 100,000 women in metropolitan areas.
'And the cervical cancer death rate for Indigenous women in the
target age group was more than four times the corresponding rate in
non-Indigenous women-11.4 deaths per 100,000 women compared with
2.5 deaths per 100,000 women.'
19 December 2003
Further information: Dr Chris Stevenson, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1041
For media copies of the reports: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of Cervical
Screening in Australia 2000-2001 and 1999-2000, BreastScreen
Australia Monitoring Report 2000-2001, and BreastScreen
Australia Monitoring Report 1998-1999 and 1999-2000
reports.