Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
June 2025
Comparing Canada’s OncoSim-Breast model with the United States’ Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) breast cancer models
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women in Canada and the United States. Mammography screening is an important approach to reducing deaths from breast cancer and the only screening modality supported by randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence for widespread population use. While screening offers benefits, such as increased life expectancy and reduced breast cancer mortality, it also carries risks, including false-positive mammograms and overdiagnosis. Additionally, resources allocated to population-based screening must be carefully balanced against the need for symptomatic detection, particularly in health systems with limited resources. Thus, selecting an appropriate screening strategy requires careful consideration of these trade-offs. Given concurrent changes in breast cancer incidence patterns, screening test performance, and advancements in therapies, it is also essential to routinely evaluate the impact of different screening strategies on breast cancer outcomes. Breast cancer screening guidelines generated by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC) in 2018 recommend that average-risk women aged 50 to 74 receive mammography screening every two to three years. The guidelines by the CTFPHC are undergoing revisions because of questions about the optimal starting age for screening.
Full article PDF versionOral contraceptive use in Canada
Oral contraceptives (OCs) have been legally available in Canada since 1969. They are the most common method of reversible contraception and are among the most frequently used medications by reproductive-aged women in Canada. OCs include combined oral contraceptive (COC) pills, which contain both estrogen and progestin, and progestin-only pills.
Full article PDF versionRelated articles
Oral contraceptive use in Canada
- Rotermann M, McKay A. Sexual behaviours, condom use and other contraceptive methods among 15- to 24-year-olds in Canada. Health Reports. 2020; 31(9) DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202000900001-eng
- Rotermann M, Dunn S, Black A. Oral contraceptive use among women aged 15 to 49. Health Reports. 2015; 26(10).
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