# Improving Breast Cancer Outcomes Through Quality Care: Call to Action for the Implementation of the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index (BCCQI)

## TL;DR

This paper calls for global action to improve breast cancer care quality using the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index (BCCQI) to address inequalities and enhance outcomes.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the BCCQI as a unified framework to assess and improve breast cancer care quality globally.

## Key findings

- Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally, with rising incidence and significant mortality.
- The BCCQI provides a structured self-assessment approach to identify and address gaps in breast cancer care systems.
- The Call to Action emphasizes the need for coordinated national and international efforts to improve care quality.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally, with increasing incidence, substantial mortality, and economic burden.Breast cancer has wide-ranging impacts, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health, disrupting household stability, productivity, equity, and social well-being, and placing strain on healthcare systems.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally, with increasing incidence, substantial mortality, and economic burden.

Breast cancer has wide-ranging impacts, affecting individuals’ mental and physical health, disrupting household stability, productivity, equity, and social well-being, and placing strain on healthcare systems.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Most countries are not on track to achieve global targets for reducing breast cancer mortality, underscoring major gaps in care quality and access, and highlighting the urgency of addressing these issues.This paper supports the implementation of the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index, a practical framework to address persistent global inequalities through the assessment and improvement of breast cancer care quality.

Most countries are not on track to achieve global targets for reducing breast cancer mortality, underscoring major gaps in care quality and access, and highlighting the urgency of addressing these issues.

This paper supports the implementation of the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index, a practical framework to address persistent global inequalities through the assessment and improvement of breast cancer care quality.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Countries can leverage this Call to Action to prioritize context-appropriate interventions through a structured, tiered self-assessment approach applicable across the breast cancer care continuum, including early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive management, and broader healthcare system components.By aligning actions around essential care elements, the Call to Action helps stakeholders identify priorities, foster coordination, and develop actionable roadmaps that translate commitments into measurable improvements and high-quality care for all women.

Countries can leverage this Call to Action to prioritize context-appropriate interventions through a structured, tiered self-assessment approach applicable across the breast cancer care continuum, including early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive management, and broader healthcare system components.

By aligning actions around essential care elements, the Call to Action helps stakeholders identify priorities, foster coordination, and develop actionable roadmaps that translate commitments into measurable improvements and high-quality care for all women.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and a leading cause of mortality. Stark differences in outcomes across income levels, regions, population groups, and healthcare systems reflect deep inequities in access to early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Due to remarkable scientific advances and many global initiatives, breast cancer is often perceived as a “finished agenda”. This Call to Action, led and endorsed by a multidisciplinary panel of international experts in breast cancer care, policy, and healthcare systems, provides a structured approach to guide countries in improving breast cancer care through the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index (BCCQI), a unified, expert-endorsed tool that translates broad guidance into practical metrics. The Call to Action outlines a framework for country profiling across the BCCQI dimensions: early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive management, and strong and resilient healthcare systems. Applying a structured self-assessment matrix linked to tiered recommendations, the Call to Action supports country performance assessment and the development of context-sensitive roadmaps for concrete interventions. By linking assessment to actionable guidance, the Call to Action underscores the urgency of coordinated national efforts and international support to close existing gaps and accelerate progress toward high-quality breast cancer care for all patients.