07 Aug Surveillance Mammography: Racial Disparities Diminished in DOD Study
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lindsey Enewold PhD, MPH
Division of Military Epidemiology and Population Sciences
John P. Murtha Cancer Center
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Rockville, Maryland
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: With increasing time since breast cancer diagnosis women were less likely to receive surveillance mammography. Minority women were equally or more likely than non-Hispanic white women to receive surveillance mammography within an equal access healthcare system.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Answer: Although it was hypothesized that rates within an equal access healthcare system would be more similar by race than in the general population, it was not completely expected that some minority women would have higher rates than their non-Hispanic white counterparts.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Answer: Treatment within an equal access healthcare system can diminish racial disparities in surveillance mammography rates. Increased adherence to recommended mammography frequencies among breast cancer survivors is warranted, regardless of race/ethnicity.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Answer: Additional assessments of the benefits of the adherence to surveillance mammography recommendations (e.g., survival by adherence level) and further assessments of the impact of equal healthcare access (e.g., diminished racial/ethnic disparities).
Citation:
Enewold, L., McGlynn, K. A., Zahm, S. H., Jatoi, I., Anderson, W. F., Gill, A. A., Shriver, C. D. and Zhu, K. (2013), Surveillance mammography among female Department of Defense beneficiaries. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28242
Last Updated on August 7, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD