Associations Between Perceived Discrimination, Screening Mammography, and Breast Cancer Stage at Diagnosis: A Prospective Cohort Analysis

Background Despite higher breast cancer screening rates, black women still are more likely to have late-stage disease diagnosed.

This disparity is influenced in part by structural and interpersonal racism.

This prospective study sought to determine how interpersonal factors, including perceived discrimination, influence screening and stage of disease at diagnosis.

Methods A prospective cohort study analyzed adult women with stages I to IV breast cancer from the Miami Breast Cancer Disparities Study.

Perceived discrimination and mistrust of providers were assessed using previously validated questionnaires.

Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the odds of screening mammography utilization and late-stage breast cancer at diagnosis.

Results The study enrolled 342 patients (54.4 % Hispanic, 15.8 % white, and 17.3 % black).

Multivariate regression, after control for both individual- and neighborhood-level factors, showed that a higher level of perceived discrimination was associated with greater odds of late-stage disease (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.06; range, 1.01–1.12); p = 0.022) and lower odds of screening mammography (aOR, 0.96; range, 0.92–0.99; p = 0.046).

A higher level of perceived discrimination also was negatively correlated with multiple measures of provider trust.

Discussion This study identified that high perceived level of discrimination is associated with decreased odds of ever having a screening mammogram and increased odds of late-stage disease.

Efforts are needed to reach women who experience perceived discrimination and to improve the patient–provider trust relationship because these may be modifiable risk factors for barriers to screening and late-stage disease presentation, which ultimately have an impact on breast cancer survival.