THE ROLE OF PUBLIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE IN SHAPING BREAST CANCER OUTCOMES

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women globally, with substantial disparities in outcomes between high- and low-resource settings. Public health surveillance—the systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of health data— provides critical insights into incidence, mortality, risk factors, and screening uptake, enabling evidence-based strategies for prevention, early detection, and treatment. This narrative review examines the role of public health surveillance in shaping breast cancer outcomes, highlighting its contributions to epidemiological understanding, program planning, resource allocation, and policy development. By integrating surveillance data into comprehensive cancer control initiatives, health systems can identify high-risk populations, improve early detection, optimize treatment pathways, and evaluate intervention effectiveness. Strengthening surveillance infrastructure, particularly in low-resource settings, is essential for reducing disparities and enhancing the global impact of breast cancer control efforts