[Breast cancer screening in France: an overview in 2009]

French breast cancer screening programme achieved national coverage in 2004-2005, fifteen years after the first pilot programs. The new protocol published in 2001, 2 views per breast every two years allowed systematic clinical examination for women aged 50 to 74. Acceptance rate increased gradually and reached 52.5% in 2008; 65% of mammograms after age 50 are in organized screening. Quality of mammograms has largely increased because of technical control and training of radiologists and radiographers. Digital systems are allowed in the program from January 2008 and it is too early to measure the impact of this new technology. Performance indicators are globally satisfactory, and the number of positive mammograms was 10.1% in 2006. Cancer detection rates increased from 5% per hundred in 2001 to 6.7% per hundred in 2005-2006 and second reading detected 6.4% of all cancers in 2006. Improvements have concerned screening and diagnosis and all age groups. France is the first European country for the annual volume of mammograms in the screening programme.