Disparity in Breast Cancer Between Black and White Women Can Be Eliminated by Regular Mammography Screening

Regular mammography screening can help narrow the breast cancer gap between black and white women, according to a retrospective study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment in August.

Earlier studies have shown that black women in Chicago are more than twice as likely to die of breast cancer as white women. Black women with breast cancer reach the disease’s late stages more often than white women, and their tumors are more likely to be larger and more biologically aggressive.

But according to the study, when women of both races received regular breast cancer screening — a mammogram within two years of breast cancer diagnosis — there was no difference in the rate of how many of them presented in the disease’s later stages.

The data result from a retrospective study conducted of women diagnosed with breast cancer from January 2001 to December 2006 at Rush University Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Data were collected on 1,642 subjects, including 980 who were regularly screened and 662 who were irregularly screened.

“This study reinforces the fact that racial gaps in breast cancer outcomes can be improved,” said lead author Paula Grabler, MD, an assistant professor of radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a radiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “One solution within reach is simple access to routine and regular mammography screening.”

More Information at Your Fingertips:
Read the complete news release.
Learn more about the Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Breast Cancer Clinic.