To strengthen countries’ capacities to address a common cancer among women, the IAEA has released a new e-learning course on mammography – a diagnostic tool pivotal in the timely detection and treatment of breast tumours. For imaging specialists across the globe, this training material will enhance screening and diagnostic services by helping these professionals to master digital mammography imaging, develop a deep understanding of operational standards, and elevate the quality of care. As the only comprehensive, free-of-cost modular training of its kind for breast cancer diagnosis, this resource serves as an accessible solution, particularly in settings where training budgets and resources are often limited.
“Early breast cancer diagnosis opens the door to life-enhancing treatments and dramatically boosts the chance of a cure. Diagnostic imaging, image-guided biopsies, and image-guided procedures pave the way for combined therapies—medications, surgery, and radiotherapy—that give each woman a better chance at overcoming or living better with breast cancer,” emphasized Miriam Mikhail-Lette, a radiologist in the IAEA Division of Human Health who led the creation and curation of the course. “Without these imaging tools, we lose the opportunity to help women with breast cancer live longer, healthier lives.”
With nearly 2.3 million new cases worldwide and over 660 000 deaths in 2022, breast cancer was the most diagnosed cancer and most common cause of cancer-related death among women, according to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Among the entire global population, breast cancer was the second most common and fourth most deadly cancer overall. Despite only one-fifth of all new cases being diagnosed in low- and middle-income countries, these same regions saw over one-third of all deaths – a disparity that highlights the need for improved detection, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.
In response, the IAEA developed and launched a mammography course. This curriculum, which benefited from extra budgetary funding from Belgium, leverages e-learning to equip health professionals with the necessary skills to deliver high-quality services and patient care in breast imaging centres. Through seven distinct modules, specialists and students can develop their theoretical and practical knowledge of digital mammography. This enables radiologists, radiation technologists, and medical physicists to provide high-quality diagnostic images, interpret complex cases and ensure patient safety.
