Women living in underserved areas, Black women, and women who prefer languages other than English are significantly less likely to get screened for breast cancer, according to new research from a group led by Lewis Jordan, MD, MPH, MS.  

Mammography is a critical tool for detecting breast cancer. Identifying breast cancer and treating it early has been associated with a 46% reduction in breast cancer mortality.  

According to Dr. Jordan and his co-authors, including Mai Elezaby, MD, and Anand Narayan, MD, PhD, limited or inaccessible mammogram screening becomes a barrier to early detection and results in health disparities.   

“Overall, living in areas of higher deprivation leads to poor health outcomes,” they wrote in the research paper “Neighborhood Deprivation and Screening Mammography Utilization: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.” “In the context of breast cancer screening access and mortality, residing in a neighborhood with increased neighborhood deprivation can result in an increase in breast cancer mortality.” 

They write that radiologists are well positioned to work with population health officers to support focused health care service delivery.   

“Targeted, equity-focused interventions addressing neighborhood, racial, and language-related barriers are needed to reduce screening disparities,” the group concluded. 

The group’s work was featured by AuntMinnie.com in its article “Neighborhood deprivation tied to lower breast cancer screening” and included in the ACR’s Daily Scan Newsletter. Read the full article in Academic Radiology.