Integrative review on breast cancer screening in the transgender population: what do we know?

Abstract

The lack of formal breast cancer screening guidelines for the transgender population and the unpreparedness of health professionals to provide adequate health care to this population are described in the literature. The objective of this integrative review was to present the proposals for breast cancer screening in the transgender population, based on the literature, being searched in the Medline, PubMed, SciELO, and Lilacs databases. The articles that addressed breast cancer screening in the female and/or male transgender population were selected, in addition to the associated studies with the use of hormone therapy and breast cancer in transgender people, using the terms such as “transgender people,” “early cancer diagnosis,” and “breast.” Of the 38 articles selected, 24 address recommendations for breast cancer screening in the female and/or male transgender population. There is limited population-based information on mammography screening in transgender people, which ultimately affects the analysis of cancer incidence in this population. The literature supports screening in the male transgender profile (similar to the female cisgender). In transgender females, recommendations are implemented based on expert’s opinions, such as mammographic screening after 5 years of hormone use. More studies on this subject are needed.