Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Strengthened in the Caribbean

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held in October, promotes screening and prevention of this disease, which affects millions of women. The IAEA is helping to improve access to cancer care, including in the Caribbean, where over 40 medical imaging professionals from 13 Caribbean countries have been better equipped with skills to analyse image and perform biopsies for breast cancer. Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential to treat breast cancer successfully, but cancer care around the globe is unevenly distributed.

The IAEA teamed up with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) to provide training in breast imaging diagnostics at MD Anderson's facility in Houston, Texas. The regional course, provided under the IAEA's technical cooperation programme, provided fundamental principles of breast imaging and interpretation through both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise.

"No longer do I feel helpless in the fight against cancer - no longer will I be tired of seeing patients die that could have been saved with timely diagnosis and adequate treatment," said Erica Dionne Jordan, a surgeon from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who took part in the course. "We were trained to perform minimally invasive breast biopsies. We were given both digital and physical supporting materials to enhance our training and train others," she added, stating: "MD Anderson Cancer Center and the IAEA have helped establish a more educated workforce - one that can not only interpret clinical findings but also adequately read mammograms and request particular views to aid in diagnoses."

According to the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) Global Cancer Observatory (IARC GLOBOCAN), breast cancer was the most common women's cancer in 157 out of 185 countries in 2022. In the Caribbean, the disease is the second highest in terms of cancer incidence and mortality - afflicting nearly 15 000 people and claiming nearly 6000 lives annually. With nearly 2.3 million cases detected and over 670 000 breast cancer deaths in 2022, it was the second-most diagnosed form of cancer worldwide.

"With its partners, the IAEA has made great strides in establishing and improving breast imaging across the Caribbean, and more broadly around the world," explained Miriam Lette, a radiologist in the IAEA's Division of Human Health and the technical officer for the training course. "Without a diagnosis, the breast cancer patient simply cannot be treated. Without timely diagnosis, treatment is delayed; cure rates are decreased; and morbidity increased. Many of our Member State populations suffer from insufficient breast imaging capacity," she said.