A total of three companies have submitted bids for the supply of four digital mammography equipment for mammographic screening for the Galician Program for the early detection of breast cancer.
The new equipment, in which the Xunta will invest 1.2 million euros, will be equipped with 3D digital technology (tomosítensis), which reduces tissue overlap, improving the detection rate and reducing the number of biopsies.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health has detailed that one of the teams will go to the Hospital Gil Casares, in the health area of Santiago and Barbanza; another for the Abente y Lago Hospital, in the health area of A Coruña and Cee, and the Meixoeiro Hospital, in the health area of Vigo, to which two teams go.
This investment is part of the more than 90 million euros that the Xunta’s 2022 budgets contemplate for the renovation and expansion of technological equipment in Galician public health (ultrasound equipment, surgical blocks and diagnostic imaging).
A commitment that, according to Sanidade, continues the one already made in 2021, with a plan for the renovation and modernization of health equipment endowed with 60 million euros, which allowed the comparison of seven Da Vinci robotic surgical systems, and 37 radiosurgical equipment.
PROGRAM DATA
The Ministry has recalled that the Galician Program for early detection of breast cancer was launched in 1992 and was extended to cover, in 1998, 100% of the target population.
Until 2004, the target population was made up of women residing in Galicia between the ages of 50 and 64. Following the guidelines of the European Union, as of 2005 the Program began a progressive expansion of the age group up to 69 years, an objective that was achieved in 2009.
One of the main indicators of results is participation, in the period 1992-2019, 2,704,969 explorations were carried out. The global participation obtained was 79.12%.
Regarding the results of the screening test, in the period 1992-2019, an additional clinical assessment was indicated for 2.9% of the women examined. In the rest, a normal result was obtained from the examination.
Regarding the detection rate of breast cancer, in the period 1992-2018, 9,382 cancers were diagnosed among patients referred to the hospital for study, a detection rate of 3.68 cancers per 1,000 women examined. The detection rate (provisional data) for the period January-December 2019 is 4.46.
In a survival study carried out on Galician women in the age group of the program and diagnosed with breast cancer in the period 1996-2009, it was found that women diagnosed by the program presented better results than those diagnosed outside, with a five-year relative survival of 96.6% and 83.1%, respectively.
Regarding the impact of mortality from breast cancer in women 50-69 years old (target age group of the program), there were 910 fewer than expected, which represents a decrease of more than 20% of the cases observed compared to to what might be expected in the absence of population screening.
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