Understanding breast cancer screening--past, present, and future

This article provides an up-to-date overview of breast cancer mammography screening and briefly discusses its history, controversies, current guidelines, practices across Asia, and future directions. An emphasis is made on shared decision-making--instead of giving just a 'yes' or 'no' answer to patients, the focus should be on providing sufficient information about the pros and cons of screening to help women make a personal, informed choice. Frontline experts, including breast surgeons, oncologists, breast radiologists, and their representative professional associations should all participate in guideline panels, with the goal of improving cancer detection, reducing mortality, and improving patient outcome.