Professional Assessment of Breast Imaging Service Standards at Cancer Centres in South West Nigeria

Breast imaging services, encompassing mammography, breast ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided biopsy, are the foundation of breast cancer diagnosis and staging at Nigerian cancer centres, and the professional standards of these services directly determine the quality and timeliness of breast cancer detection. In South West Nigeria, where breast cancer burden is highest among Nigerian geopolitical zones, the professional quality of breast imaging services at major cancer centres warrants formal evaluation. This study professionally assesses breast imaging service standards at cancer centres in Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo States. A professional service audit methodology is applied across six cancer centres, evaluating mammography equipment performance against ACR accreditation criteria, radiographer mammography positioning competency against PGMI standards, ultrasound-guided biopsy technique against BIR guidelines, reporting turnaround standards, and breast multidisciplinary team meeting participation by radiology. A structured patient experience questionnaire is administered to 120 breast imaging service users. Descriptive statistics and scoring analysis are computed in SPSS. Literature from South West Nigerian breast cancer care identifies long diagnostic turnaround times and limited ultrasound-guided biopsy capacity as the most significant service quality gaps in the cancer care pathway. The ACR Breast Imaging Accreditation standards and NABCO National Breast Cancer Awareness Council service guidelines provide the evaluative framework. Findings are expected to reveal equipment and reporting time deficiencies alongside strong radiographer positioning competency. Recommendations address mammography accreditation pathways, biopsy service expansion, and MDT integration standards for South West Nigeria cancer centres. Keywords: breast imaging, service standards, cancer centres, South West Nigeria, mammography.