Introduction:A high prevalence of advanced breast cancer (BC) is a common scenario in Latin America.In Peru, the frequency of BC at Stages III/IV is ≈50% despite implementation of a programme for breast cancer screening (BCS) along the country.We carried out a study to assess the feasibility and develop an instrument to evaluate the knowledge, barriers and perception about BCS in a nationwide pilot study in Peru among candidates for BCS. Methods:We conducted a systematic review of 2,558 reports indexed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Medline-Ovid and EMBASE, regarding to our study theme.In total, 111 were selected and a 51-items survey was developed (eight items about sociodemographic characteristics).Patients were recruited in public hospitals or private clinics, in rural and urban areas of nine departments of Peru. Results:We surveyed 488 women from: Lima (150), Cajamarca (93), Ica (59), Arequipa (56), Loreto (48), Ancash (38), Junín (15), Puerto Maldonado (15) and Huancavelica ( 14); 27.9% of them were from rural areas.The mean of age was 53.3 years (standard deviation ± 9.1).Regarding education level, 29.8% had primary, 33.2% secondary and 37.0% higher education.In total, 28.7% of women did not know the term 'mammogram' and 47.1% reported never receiving a BCS (36.9% from urban and 73.5% from rural population).In women that underwent BCS, only 67% knew it is for healthy women.In total, 54.1% of patients had low levels of knowledge about risk factors for BC (i.e.87.5% of women respond that injuries in the breast produce cancer).Cultural, economic and geographic barriers were significantly associated with having a mammogram where 56.9% of Research