Working Paper Series

Abstract: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and one of the top five major causes of cancer deaths among Hong Kong women. Screening is regarded as the critical component in early detection as well as the initial step in making a definitive diagnosis. Researches have indicated that mammography is the most commonly employed examination to detect breast cancer in the early stage, resulting in the reduction of mortality from breast cancer. Currently, there are some non-territory wide breast screening programmes in Hong Kong and their effectiveness is considered to be low. With reference to screening programmes in the Asian-pacific perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the effectiveness of mammography in order to make some recommendations to the Breast Cancer screening programme in Hong Kong. To maximize its effectiveness, both public education and collaboration between the government and healthcare organizations are needed to develop a comprehensive community-based breast screening programme.