Indicators

Key notes and considerations to support interpretation

The following definitions and considerations aim to support the interpretation of the indicator reporting. For more details, see the document on data specifications.

• Screening period: This reflects the standard two-year interval for screening participation and any necessary follow-up. However, for measurement purposes, the actual data reflects 2 years + 6 months, (i.e., a total interval of 30 months) to provide a “grace period” for individuals who became eligible to screen, according to jurisdictional guidelines, during this time.
  • For simplicity, the screening periods are cited as 2018-19 and 2020-21.
• Timeframe: Except for post-screen cancer detection rate, data for all indicators was extracted for the years 2018-21 (specific screening year varies by indicator).
  • Data for the indicator “post-screen cancer detection rate” was reported from 2017-18.
  • Generally, an individual is counted once within each measurement timeframe.
  • In describing the impact of COVID-19, breast screening performed in 2019 and in 2020 was considered as pre-pandemic and pandemic era respectively.
• Individuals screened: This refers to individuals within the eligible population who participated in programmatic breast screening.
• Age range: All jurisdictions included in this report, except Saskatchewan and Quebec, submitted data for ages 50-74.
  • Saskatchewan and Quebec provided data for ages 50-69 only since individuals aged 70-74 were not routinely invited for screening at the time of data collection.
• Cancer detection: Where applicable, data includes ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive cancers combined, if not specified.

Please note that this report does not offer jurisdictional-specific interpretation or rationale for observed data trends. For more information on the screening performance or metrics of any given jurisdiction, please contact the cancer screening program directly.