Imaging surveillance in minority ethnic groups for women at an increased risk of breast cancer
Citation: Belkić K, Cohen M, Wilczek B, et al. Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? International Journal of Oncology. 2015;47(3):817-39.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Cancerfonden, Radiumhemmet Research Fund, the Müllerska Fund through the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, FoUU through Stockholm County Council, and Karolinska Institutet Research Foundation.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of imaging surveillance among women in Europe who were at high riskof breast cancer. They did not restrict their searches by language of publication. The authors searched in December 2014 and found 92 studies from 27 centres.
What was found: The main objective of the study was to examine whether women from minority ethnic groups had been included adequately in breast cancer surveillance programmes in Europe. The implementation of magnetic resonance imaging as well as more intensive and earlier screening showed benefits for women at increased risk of breast cancer. However, none of the study centres or surveillance programmes made adequate efforts to include women from minority ethnic groups who were at increased risk because of genetic mutations or family history.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that cultural competence was needed to ensure successful outreach to minority ethnic groups and to better facilitate their inclusion in surveillance programmes. The implementation of population-based screening programmes could help to identify women at higher risk of breast cancer.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence, race, ethnicity, culture, language, and sex.
This summary was prepared by Joly Ghanawi, checked by Grace Meng, and finalized by William Summerskill.