title: Are international differences in breast cancer survival between Australia and the UK present amongst both screen-detected women and non-screen-detected women? survival estimates for women diagnosed in West Midlands and New South Wales 1997-2006.
abstract: We examined survival in screened-detected and non-screen-detected women diagnosed in the West Midlands (UK) and New South Wales (Australia) in order to evaluate whether international differences in survival are related to early diagnosis, or to other factors relating to the healthcare women receive. Data for women aged 50 - 65 years who had been eligible for screening from 50 years were examined. Data for 5,628 women in West Midlands and 6,396 women in New South Wales were linked to screening service records (mean age at diagnosis 53.7 years). We estimated net survival and modelled the excess hazard ratio of breast cancer death by screening status. Survival was lower for women in the West Midlands than in New South Wales (5-year net survival 90.9% [95% CI 89.9%-91.7%] compared with 93.4% [95% CI 92.6%-94.1%], respectively). The difference was greater between the two populations of non-screen-detected women (4.9%) compared to between screen-detected women, (1.8% after adjustment for lead-time and over-diagnosis). The adjusted excess hazard ratio of breast cancer death for West Midlands compared with New South Wales was greater in the non-screen-detected group (EHR 2.00, 95% CI 1.70 - 2.31) but not significantly different to that for women whose cancer had been screen-detected (EHR 1.72, 95% CI 0.87 - 2.56). In this study more than one in three breast cancer deaths in the West Midlands would have been avoided if survival had been the same as in New South Wales. The possibility that women in the UK receive poorer treatment is an important potential explanation which should be examined with care.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group, Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group, Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rachet
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Division, Cancer Council NSW, NSW 1340, Australia.
authors.forename: Dianne L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Breast Cancer Audit Consultant and Former Director, West Midlands Cancer Intelligence Unit, Public Health Building, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT.
authors.forename: Gill
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group, Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT.
authors.forename: Michel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Coleman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015982:Bias; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history / Q000401:mortality*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D000069342:Medical Overuse; D008875:Middle Aged; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Australia; New South Wales; UK; West Midlands; breast cancer; cancer screening; excess mortality; mammography; net survival