A web-based database which will help doctors assess a person's risk of developing breast cancer has been launched at Mater Dei Hospital.

Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said the project builds a health profile of the patient on the basis of information supplied from hospital records, the patient's family tree, lifestyle  and the results of mammography tests. It uses UK-developed software to assess whether a person has a high, medium or low risk of developing breast cancer. Patients can then be supplied with guidelines and asks to undergo tests, if necessary.

Dr Fearne said Malta has some 350 breast cancer patients a year and about 80 deaths. Although it is one of the most common cancers, the survival rate is over 95 per cent when detection is early, he said.

He said the breast cancer screening programme for women aged between 50 and 60 has so far detected cancer in 230 women.

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