Italian guidelines for age range and test interval in breast cancer screening programmes: GRADE-ADOLOPMENT of the European guidelines

A guideline panel formulated a set of recommendations for breast cancer screening and diagnosis to implement clinical activities in Italy in alignment with the European Breast Cancer Guidelines on Screening and Diagnosis (European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer—ECIBC). The panel issued national recommendations through adopting, adapting, and/or developing recommendations from the European guidelines (ADOLOPMENT approach). This process utilizes the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) evidence to decision (EtD) framework. An additional PubMed search was conducted using search terms specific to Italy to tailor the EU guidelines to the national context. Nine articles were included as contextual evidence in the EtD. A total of 13 recommendations were finalized, either adapted or adopted to suit the national context. Organized breast cancer screening is strongly recommended for women aged 50–69 every 2 years, and it is conditionally recommended every 3 years for women aged 70–74, as well as every 1 or 2 years for women aged 45–49. Annual mammography received a strong recommendation against for women aged 50 and older. Developing shared national guidelines for the management of mammography screening will improve the standardization of processes across all settings, thereby promoting health equity.