Burton RC, Bell RJ, Thiagarajah G et al.
Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Breast Cancer Res Treat 2012;131:949–55.
Editor’s note: The Australian government initiated a national free mammographic program for women aged ≥40 years in 1991, the BreastScreen Australia program, following a review of the large mammographic screening trials. BreastScreen specifically targeted women aged 50–69 years by identifying them on the electoral roll and inviting them by letter to have a screening mammogram every 2 years. Women aged 40–49 years and those aged ≥70 years could request and obtain a screening mammogram. In this report, the authors analyzed changes in the breast cancer age-specific mortality rate between 1991 and 2007 in women aged 40–79 years. During this period, the age-standardized breast cancer mortality rate for all women in Australia fell from 31.1 per 100 000 to 22.1 per 100 000.