Performance indicator 2: Rescreening

Summary

  • The proportion of participants aged 50–72 who screened in 2021 and rescreened within 27 months was 53.9% after the first screening round, 62.9% after the second screening round, and 77.7% after the third and subsequent screening rounds.
  • In 2021, regardless of the screening round, the highest rescreen rates were for participants aged 50–72, followed by participants aged 40–49. Participants aged 75 and over had the lowest rescreen rate.

Definition

The proportion of participants aged 50–72 screened in a given year whose screening outcome was a recommendation to return for screening in 2 years and who returned for a screen within 27 months.

Rationale

A high rescreen rate is important to increase the likelihood of breast cancers being detected early and to maintain overall participation.

Guide to interpretation

The screening interval of 27 months is used instead of the recommended screening interval of 2 years to allow for potential delays in screening availability and data transfer.

Note that although the BreastScreen Australia target age group is 50–74, the age group 50–72 is used to calculate the rescreen rate because participants aged 73–74 at the time of their screen would be outside the target age group of 50–74 when they are due for their rescreen.

Rescreening data are reported as a percentage of participants screened.

The most recent rescreening data are for participants screened in the index year 2021. This small lag in data availability is due to the fact that 27 months needs to have passed since a participant’s last screen to know whether or not they have rescreened within this interval.

A higher rescreening rate is better.

More information on rescreening

The rescreening indicator measures the proportion of participants who return for screening at a BreastScreen service within the recommended screening interval. The interval between the screens is an important factor influencing the level of cancer detection. BreastScreen Australia national policy states that women should be screened every 2 years. It has been shown that screening intervals longer than 2 years reduce mortality benefits from screening and result in an increase in interval cancers (BreastScreen Australia 2004). This is because increased time between screening may allow a tumour to grow to the point where symptoms become evident, thus eliminating the advantage of screening.

Results

The proportion of participants aged 50–72 who screened in 2021 and rescreened within 27 months was 53.9% after the first screening round (that is, a participant’s first screen with BreastScreen Australia), 62.9% after the second screening round, and 77.7% after the third and subsequent screening rounds (Figure 2.1). This indicates that the proportion of participants aged 50–72 who return for a rescreen within 27 months increases with the number of screens previously attended.

Figure 2.1: Rescreening by screening round, participants aged 50–72 screened during 2021

This vertical bar chart shows the rescreen rate increased with the number of screens previously attended.

Source: AIHW analysis of BreastScreen Australia data. Data for this figure are available in tables A2.3a, A2.3b and A2.3c.

Rescreening trends

Between 2014 and 2021 rescreening for participants aged 50–72 for the first screening round varied between 41.1% and 60.9%. Over the same period the rescreening rate for the second screening round varied between 46.6% and 70.1%. The rescreen rate for the third and subsequent screening rounds ranged between 65.1% and 85.0%.

Rescreening by age

In 2021, regardless of the screening round, the highest rescreen rate was for participants aged 50–72, followed by participants aged 40–49 (Figure 2.2). Participants aged 75 and over had the lowest rescreen rate.

Rescreening by state and territory

In 2021, rescreen rates varied between the states and territories. For participants aged 50–72 rescreen rates for the first screening round varied between 36.7% and 59.9%. Over the same period the rescreening rate for the second screening round varied between 48.1% and 64.8%. The rescreen rate for the third and subsequent screening rounds ranged between 67.0% and 82.9%.

Figure 2.2: Rescreening by screening round, participants aged 40–49, 50–72 and 75+, screened in 2021

This grouped vertical bar chart shows regardless of the screening round, the highest rescreen rate was for participants aged 50–72.

Source: AIHW analysis of BreastScreen Australia data. Data for this figure are available in Table A2.2.

Previous page
Next page