title: Comparison of Screened and Nonscreened Breast Cancer Patients in Relation to Age: A 2-Institution Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Screening programs for breast cancer aim to allow early diagnosis, and thus reduce mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a population screening program in a sample of women aged between 50 and 69 years in terms of recurrence, metastasis, biological profiles, and survival, and to compare their results with those of women of a wider age range who did not participate on the screening program.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective multicenter study in which 1821 patients with 1873 breast tumors who received surgery between 1999 and 2014 at MútuaTerrassa University Hospital and the Hospital of Terrassa in Barcelona were analyzed. A comparison was performed in the 50- to 69-year-old age group between those who participated on the screening program and those who did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of patients was 58 years. The mean follow-up was 72 months, and median follow-up 59 months. The screened group showed significantly better results in all prognostic factors and in specific mortality than all nonscreened groups. The specific mortality rate in the screened patients was 2.4% (12/496), local recurrence 2.8% (14/496), and metastasis at 10 years 3.6% (18/496). In the nonscreened group, younger women presented a higher rate of metastasis (16.4% [81/493]) and a shorter disease-free period (77.1% [380/493]). The age group older than 70 years had the highest number of T4 tumors (7.5% [30/403]) and the highest proportion of radical surgery (50.4% [203/403]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients in the screening program presented improved survival. We speculate that extending breast cancer screening programs to women younger than 50 and older than 70 years could bring about mortality benefits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Breast Unit, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barco
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Health Science Tecnocampus Mataró-Maresme, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chabrera
authors.affiliation: Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García Font
authors.affiliation: Research Unit, Research Foundation Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Laboratory of Toxicology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: nuria.gimenez@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gimenez
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine (CTD), Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fraile
authors.affiliation: Breast Unit, Department of Gynaecology, Hospital de Terrassa, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lain
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Breast Unit, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Merce
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piqueras
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Breastfeeding Promotion Programme, ASSIR Mollet, Institut Català de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Breast Unit, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Merce
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torras
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Breast Unit, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pessarrodona
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clínica Sant Josep, Manresa, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barco
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cassadó
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Breast Unit, Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Breast Cancer Screening Unit, Vallès Occidental, Institut Català de la Salut, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García Fernández
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Breast neoplasm; Mortality; Recurrence; Screening; Survival