The European Commission has published the 4th European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis in an effort to improve survival rates from breast cancer across Europe. The Guidelines are a benchmark for best practice and have been developed with input from over 200 professionals and client and patient advocates from 18 Member States (the former EU-15 plus Cyprus, Hungary and Poland) as well as Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Canada and the United States. New issues covered include digital mammography and advice for specialist breast units.

The European Guidelines aim to raise quality standards by bringing together at EU level the best examples from regional and national breast cancer screening programmes over the last 20 years. The Guidelines have been developed by the European Breast Cancer Network (EBCN), which was co-financed under the European Commission’s Europe against Cancer programme. EBCN activities are continuing in the framework of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)-co-ordinated European Cancer Network (ECN). Production of the new guidelines was co-ordinated by the European Reference Organisation for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services (EUREF) project in the EBCN network and substantial input for some of the chapters was provided from the United Kingdom National Guidelines and experts of the European Society of Mastology (EUSOMA).

The European Parliament Resolution on Breast Cancer calls for the implementation of the European guidelines across the European Union.

An executive summary is available on the European Commission website. The full guidelines document (over 400 pages) can be ordered from the Office of Official Publications for the European Communities.

The full guidelines document can also be downloaded for free. More information.