Socio-demographic factors influencing attendance and survival of breast cancer in the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In Norway, a total of 2694 women were diagnosed and 715 women died of breast cancer in 2003. On the basis of the results of randomised trials from New York, Canada and different studies in Sweden , the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs decided in 1995/6 to launch a pilot project offering biennial mammography. All women aged 50-69 years living in the counties of Rogaland, Oslo, Hordaland and Akershus (ROHA) were invited. In 1998, the Norwegian parliament decided to expand the project to a nationwide programme. Since February 2004 all women aged 50-69 years old are invited to the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program (NBCS Program). The primary aim of the program is to reduce breas t cancer mortality among the invited women by 30% 10 years after the implementation. This thesis follows the two earlier PhD theses on the data from the NBCS Program. Here, the focus will be on different aspects of attendance and survival of different gr oups: 1. Investigating socio-economic factors by attendees and non-attendees in the NBCS Program, and investigating their mortality pattern. 2. Estimation of the effect of the NBCS Program on breast cancer survival in women not invited to the program. 3 . Investigation of breast cancer survival among the invited, the attendees and the non-attendees in the NBCS Program. 4. Survival analysis of the interval cancers. The project is a co-operation by the Cancer Registry of Norway and Harvard Public School of Health, Boston, USA.