Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis: A Synopsis of the European Breast Guidelines.

Description: The European Commission Initiative for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis guidelines (European Breast Guidelines) are coordinated by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The target audience for the guidelines includes women, health professionals, and policymakers. Methods: An international guideline panel of 28 multidisciplinary members, including patients, developed questions and corresponding recommendations that were informed by systematic reviews of the evidence conducted between March 2016 and December 2018. GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) Evidence to Decision frameworks were used to structure the process and minimize the influence of competing interests by enhancing transparency. Questions and recommendations, expressed as strong or conditional, focused on outcomes that matter to women and provided a rating of the certainty of evidence. Recommendations: This synopsis of the European Breast Guidelines provides recommendations regarding organized screening programs for women aged 40 to 75 years who are at average risk. The recommendations address digital mammography screening and the addition of hand-held ultrasonography, automated breast ultrasonography, or magnetic resonance imaging compared with mammography alone. The recommendations also discuss the frequency of screening and inform decision making for women at average risk who are recalled for suspicious lesions or who have high breast density.

Methods for Development of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer Guidelines: Recommendations in the Era of Guideline Transparency.

Neither breast cancer prevention and early-detection programs, nor their outcomes, are uniform across Europe. This article describes the rationale, methods, and process for development of the European Commission (EC) Initiative on Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Guidelines. To be consistent with standards set by the Institute of Medicine and others, the EC followed 6 general principles. First, the EC selected, via an open call, a panel with broad representation of areas of expertise. Second, it ensured that all recommendations were supported by systematic reviews. Third, the EC separately considered important subgroups of women, included patient advocates in the guidelines development group, and focused on good communication to inform women's decisions. Fourth, EC rules on conflicts of interest were followed and the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) Evidence to Decision frameworks were used to structure the process and minimize the influence of competing interests. Fifth, it focused its recommendations on outcomes that matter to women, and certainty of the evidence is rated for each. Sixth, the EC elicited stakeholder feedback to ensure that the recommendations remain up to date and relevant to practice. This article describes the approach and highlights ways of disseminating and adapting the recommendations both within and outside Europe, using innovative information technology tools.

Systematic review on women's values and preferences concerning breast cancer screening and diagnostic services.

BACKGROUND: There is still lack of consensus on the benefit-harm balance of breast cancer screening. In this scenario, women's values and preferences are crucial for developing health-related recommendations. In the context of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer, we conducted a systematic review to inform the European Breast Guidelines. METHODS: We searched Medline and included primary studies assessing women's values and preferences regarding breast cancer screening and diagnosis decision making. We used a thematic approach to synthesise relevant data. The quality of evidence was determined with GRADE, including GRADE CERQual for qualitative research. RESULTS: We included 22 individual studies. Women were willing to accept the psychological and physical burden of breast cancer screening and a significant risk of overdiagnosis and false-positive mammography findings, in return for the benefit of earlier diagnosis. The anxiety engendered by the delay in getting results of diagnostic tests was highlighted as a significant burden, emphasising the need for rapid and efficient screening services, and clear and efficient communication. The confidence in the findings was low to moderate for screening and moderate for diagnosis, predominantly because of methodological limitations, lack of adequate understanding of the outcomes by participants, and indirectness. CONCLUSIONS: Women value more the possibility of an earlier diagnosis over the risks of a false-positive result or overdiagnosis. Concerns remain that women may not understand the concept of overdiagnosis. Women highly value time efficient screening processes and rapid result delivery and will accept some discomfort for the peace of mind screening may provide.

Intensive follow-up for women with breast cancer: review of clinical, economic and patient's preference domains through evidence to decision framework.

BACKGROUND: Women treated for breast cancer are followed-up for monitoring of treatment effectiveness and for detecting recurrences at an early stage. The type of follow-up received may affect women's reassurance and impact on their quality of life. Anxiety and depression among women with breast cancer has been described, but little is known about how the intensity of the follow-up can affect women's psychological status. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of intensive vs. less-intensive follow-up on different health outcomes, to determine what are women's preferences and values regarding the follow-up received, and also assess the costs of these different types of follow-up. METHODS: A systematic review following standard Cochrane Collaboration methods was carried out to assess the efficacy of intensive follow-up versus non-intensive follow-up in breast cancer patients. Two additional reviews on women's preferences and economic evidence were also carried out. The search was performed up to January 2016 in: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PDQ, McMaster Health Systems Evidence, CENTRAL, and NHS EED (through The Cochrane Library). The quality of evidence was assessed by GRADE (for quantitative studies) and CerQUAL (for qualitative studies). Several outcomes including mortality, breast cancer recurrences, quality of life, and patient satisfaction were evaluated. RESULTS: Six randomised trials (corresponding to 3534 women) were included for the evaluation of health outcomes; three studies were included for women's values and preferences and four for an economic assessment. There is moderate certainty of evidence showing that intensive follow-up, including more frequent diagnostic tests or visits, does not have effects on 5- or 10-year overall mortality and recurrences in women with breast cancer, compared with less intensive follow-up. Regarding women's preferences and values, there was important variability among studies and within studies (low confidence due to risk of bias and inconsistency). Furthermore, intensive follow-up, as opposed to less intensive follow-up, is not likely to be cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Less intensive follow-up appears to be justified and can be recommended over intensive follow-up. Resources could thus be mobilised to other aspects of breast cancer care, or other areas of healthcare.

Determination of ochratoxin A in licorice and licorice extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection: collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted to validate an analytical method for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in licorice (root powder) and licorice extracts (paste and powder). Contents of OTA ranged from 26 to 141 microg/kg and from 8 to 52 microg/kg for licorice extracts and root material, respectively. For the analysis, a test portion is extracted with a mixture of methanol and aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution. The extract is filtered and diluted with phosphate-buffered saline; and OTA is purified with an immunoaffinity column containing antibodies specific to OTA. The purified extract is dried, reconstituted, and quantified by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Twenty laboratories from 13 European Union member states, Uruguay, Turkey, and the United States of America participated in this study. The study was evaluated according to internationally accepted guidelines. The method performance characteristics can be summarized as follows: over a working range of 7.7 to 141 microg/kg OTA, the mean recoveries were 87% for licorice root and 84-88% for licorice extracts; and the RSDs for reproducibility ranged from 10 to 17% and from 11 to 22% in licorice extracts and licorice root, respectively. The method was found to be fit-for-purpose and to fulfill legal requirements as set in EC Regulation No. 401/2006.

Outdoor radon and traffic load levels as cumulative indicators of PM10 and benzene air pollution.

UNLABELLED: A new simple cumulative index, named Critical Index (CI), linearly dependent on traffic load and outdoor 222Rn levels (as related to the air mixing condition) was introduced in order to determine the cumulative effect of traffic and atmospheric dilution on PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameter < 10 microm) and Benzene concentrations in Milan (Italy) air in the years 2000 and 2001. Benzene, PM10 data were obtained from the public air quality monitoring stations. The traffic load was evaluated by the number of vehicles circulating in a street in the centre of Milan. Outdoor 222Rn measurements were carried out by the authors. Traffic data and mixing layer height (estimated through the outdoor 222Rn air activity) combined in a cumulative index, allowed to demonstrate the correlation of traffic load with high Benzene and PM10 pollution levels without exception. IMPLICATIONS: Through the introduction of a new simple cumulative index that is linearly dependent on traffic load and outdoor radon levels (as related to the air mixing condition), it was possible to ascertain the cumulative effect of traffic and atmospheric dilution on PM10 and benzene concentrations in Milan air in the years 2000 and 2001. The proposed methodology will be used to monitor the situation with data collected 10 yr later, in order to evaluate air quality improvement taking into account the influence of different meteorological conditions of the two periods compared.

Benefits and harms of breast cancer mammography screening for women at average risk of breast cancer: A systematic review for the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Mammography screening is generally accepted in women aged 50-69, but the balance between benefits and harms remains controversial in other age groups. This study systematically reviews these effects to inform the European Breast Cancer Guidelines. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for randomised clinical trials (RCTs) or systematic reviews of observational studies in the absence of RCTs comparing invitation to mammography screening to no invitation in women at average breast cancer (BC) risk. We extracted data for mortality, BC stage, mastectomy rate, chemotherapy provision, overdiagnosis and false-positive-related adverse effects. We performed a pooled analysis of relative risks, applying an inverse-variance random-effects model for three age groups (<50, 50-69 and 70-74). GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) was used to assess the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: We identified 10 RCTs including 616,641 women aged 38-75. Mammography reduced BC mortality in women aged 50-69 (relative risk (RR) 0.77, 95%CI (confidence interval) 0.66-0.90, high certainty) and 70-74 (RR 0.77, 95%CI 0.54-1.09, high certainty), with smaller reductions in under 50s (RR 0.88, 95%CI 0.76-1.02, moderate certainty). Mammography reduced stage IIA+ in women 50-69 (RR 0.80, 95%CI 0.64-1.00, very low certainty) but resulted in an overdiagnosis probability of 23% (95%CI 18-27%) and 17% (95%CI 15-20%) in under 50s and 50-69, respectively (moderate certainty). Mammography was associated with 2.9% increased risk of invasive procedures with benign outcomes (low certainty). CONCLUSIONS: For women 50-69, high certainty evidence that mammography screening reduces BC mortality risk would support policymakers formulating strong recommendations. In other age groups, where the net balance of effects is less clear, conditional recommendations will be more likely, together with shared decision-making.

Validated tools measuring women's satisfaction in breast cancer screening programmes: A systematic review.

International guidelines recommend assessing women's satisfaction with breast cancer screening programmes; however, validated tools are needed. A systematic review to identify and evaluate the quality of validated instruments for screening satisfaction, from 01/1965 until 11/2017 was performed. From 3283 individual citations, six instruments were identified. Evaluation of the MammoGraphy Questionnaire using the COSMIN checklist resulted in 'good' to 'excellent' scores in most assessed domains, while the other tools were mostly 'poor'/'fair' quality or did not provide enough information for assessment. Nevertheless, substantial changes in screening processes and programmes have been implemented in recent years. Thus, further development work is needed.