Will early detection of breast cancer reduce the costs of treatment?

A substantial investment in resources is required to provide a population-based mammography screening program. At the same time, screening may also reduce the costs of treating breast cancer. Empirical evidence to support such cost savings, however, is limited. This paper presents a simulation of the impact on treatment costs of a population-based mammography screening program in New South Wales. A 1991 cohort of women aged 45 to 69 years is followed for the period 1991 to 2023. With two-yearly screening, the present value of the total health service costs for this cohort would be approximately $112 million. Primary treatment, at $60 million, would cost $5 million more with screening than without. Treatment for advanced stages of the disease would cost $22 million less. Overall, this analysis suggests that savings in treatment costs are relatively small in relation to the overall resource requirements of organised screening.