Racial/ethnic differences in early detection of breast cancer: a study of 250,985 cases from the California Cancer Registry.

AIMS

This study analyzed early breast cancer detection rates as a surrogate for breast cancer mortality rates. Stage at diagnosis was broken down by race/ethnicity and year of diagnosis for the cases of female breast cancer in the California Cancer Registry from 1988 to 2002.

METHODS

A quarter million cases of breast cancer in women > or =50 years of age recorded in the California Cancer Registry over the period 1988-2002 were classified as early (in situ and localized stages) or late (regional and distant stages). The increases in the percent of cases that were early were studied by 3-year periods over this interval. In addition to the total group, data were broken down by race/ethnicity. The 3-year periods were used to compensate for small numbers of cases in some of the nonwhite groups.

RESULTS

The proportion of early stage female breast cancers reached a plateau at 70% in the mid-1990s. African American and Hispanic women's screening rates reached a plateau at a considerably lower rate. Only Pacific Islander/Asian American women demonstrated a sustained rise in the percent of early breast cancers detected through 2002, eventually nearing the rate of early detection set by white women.

CONCLUSIONS

The plateaus observed suggest that focused interventions continue to be needed for all women, especially for African American and Hispanic women if the American Cancer Society's 2015 goals are to be achieved.