Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? (Review)

  • Authors:
    • Karen Belkić
    • Miri Cohen
    • Brigitte Wilczek
    • Sonia Andersson
    • Anne H. Berman
    • Marcela Márquez
    • Vladana Vukojević
    • Miriam Mints
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: June 26, 2015     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2015.3063
  • Pages: 817-839
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Abstract

Women from ethnic minority groups, including immigrants and refugees are reported to have low breast cancer (BC) screening rates. Active, culturally-sensitive outreach is vital for increasing participation of these women in BC screening programs. Women at high BC risk and who belong to an ethnic minority group are of special concern. Such women could benefit from ongoing trials aimed at optimizing screening strategies for early BC detection among those at increased BC risk. Considering the marked disparities in BC survival in Europe and its enormous and dynamic ethnic diversity, these issues are extremely timely for Europe. We systematically reviewed the literature concerning European surveillance studies that had imaging in the protocol and that targeted women at high BC risk. The aim of the present review was thereby to assess the likelihood that women at high BC risk from minority ethnic groups were adequately included in these surveillance programs. Twenty-seven research groups in Europe reported on their imaging surveillance programs for women at increased BC risk. The benefit of strategies such as inclusion of magnetic resonance imaging and/or more intensive screening was clearly documented for the participating women at increased BC risk. However, none of the reports indicated that sufficient outreach was performed to ensure that women at increased BC risk from minority ethnic groups were adequately included in these surveillance programs. On the basis of this systematic review, we conclude that the specific screening needs of ethnic minority women at increased BC risk have not yet been met in Europe. Active, culturally-sensitive outreach is needed to identify minority women at increased BC risk and to facilitate their inclusion in on-going surveillance programs. It is anticipated that these efforts would be most effective if coordinated with the development of European-wide, population-based approaches to BC screening.
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September-2015
Volume 47 Issue 3

Print ISSN: 1019-6439
Online ISSN:1791-2423

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Spandidos Publications style
Belkić K, Cohen M, Wilczek B, Andersson S, Berman AH, Márquez M, Vukojević V and Mints M: Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? (Review). Int J Oncol 47: 817-839, 2015.
APA
Belkić, K., Cohen, M., Wilczek, B., Andersson, S., Berman, A.H., Márquez, M. ... Mints, M. (2015). Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? (Review). International Journal of Oncology, 47, 817-839. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2015.3063
MLA
Belkić, K., Cohen, M., Wilczek, B., Andersson, S., Berman, A. H., Márquez, M., Vukojević, V., Mints, M."Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? (Review)". International Journal of Oncology 47.3 (2015): 817-839.
Chicago
Belkić, K., Cohen, M., Wilczek, B., Andersson, S., Berman, A. H., Márquez, M., Vukojević, V., Mints, M."Imaging surveillance programs for women at high breast cancer risk in Europe: Are women from ethnic minority groups adequately included? (Review)". International Journal of Oncology 47, no. 3 (2015): 817-839. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2015.3063