Cancer Screening Rates Lag Behind National Target Levels ► NCI Cancer Bulletin for February 7, 2012 - National Cancer Institute

NCI Cancer Bulletin for February 7, 2012 - National Cancer Institute

Cancer Screening Rates Lag Behind National Target Levels

Screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer remained lower in 2010 than national objectives set forth in Healthy People 2020, measures set by the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the health of Americans and gauge the impact of prevention activities. The findings appeared in the January 27 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

        2010 U.S. Cancer Screening Rates and Target Screening Rates for 2020

Screening for	Percent Screened	Healthy People 2020 Target
Breast cancer	72.4	81.1
Cervical cancer	83.0	93.0
Colorectal cancer	58.6	70.5

Based on findings from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), scientists from NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that from 2000 to 2010, “the population-based estimates in this report show a slight downward trend in the proportion of women up-to-date with screening for cervical cancer but no change over time in breast cancer screening rates,” Colorectal cancer screening rates for men and women increased substantially, the report showed, and by 2010 were generally the same for both sexes.
Rates of all three cancer screening tests were significantly lower among Asians than among whites and blacks, the report noted. Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanics to be screened for cervical and colorectal cancer.

“Higher screening rates were positively associated with education, availability and use of health care, and length of U.S. residence,” the researchers added.  For breast cancer, “immigrant women who had been in the United States for 10 or more years were almost as likely as U.S.-born women to report having had a mammogram within the past 2 years (70.3 percent and 73.1 percent, respectively),” the article stated, “whereas only 46.6 percent of immigrants [who had been] in the United States for less than 10 years reported being screened in the past 2 years.”

“Healthy People objectives are important for monitoring progress toward reducing the burden of cancer in the United States,” said Dr. Carrie Klabunde, an epidemiologist with DCCPS and a co-author of the study. “Our study points to the particular need for finding ways to increase the use of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening tests among Asians and Hispanics, as well as among adults who lack health insurance or a usual source of health care.”