Breast Cancer Screening Programs in China: Implementation, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

According to GLOBOCAN 2022, China accounts for the highest number of new breast cancer cases and the second highest number of breast cancer deaths globally. As part of the national public health initiative, a population-based breast cancer screening program was launched in 2009, initially targeting rural women and later expanded to include rural and urban women aged 35-64 years from 2019 onwards. The screening approach in China relies on ultrasonography (US) and mammography. Although mammography is an evidence-based standard, US plays a major role due to limited mammography resources and a high prevalence of dense breasts. Understanding the real-world implementation of breast cancer screening programs in China may provide valuable insights for breast cancer screening practices in other countries. This review summarizes the implementation and achievements of China's breast cancer screening programs, evaluates the role of US within the current screening framework, and discusses the key challenges and future directions.