Title
Geographical Location and Stage of Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2016
Description
Objective: To examine systematically the literature on the effect of geographical location variation on breast cancer stage at diagnosis, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Methods. Eight electronic databases were searched using combination of key words. Of the 312 articles retrieved from the search, 36 studies from 12 countries were considered eligible for inclusion.
Results. This review identified 17 (47%) of 36 studies in which breast cancer patients residing in geographically remote/rural areas had more late-stage diagnosis than urban women. Ten (28%) studies reported higher proportions of women diagnosed with breast cancer resided in urban than rural counties. Nine (25%) studies reported no statistically significant association between place of residence and stage at diagnosis for breast cancer patients residing in rural and urban areas.
Conclusions. Cancer patients residing in rural and disadvantaged areas were more likely to be diagnosed with distant breast metastasis. Efforts to reduce these inequalities and subsequent mortality are needed.
Posted Versions
Published PDF
Comments
Errata of article published in Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, 28(1), February 2017: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/648782
Citation Information
Williams, Faustine; James, Aimee S.; and Jeanetta, Stephen. 2016. Geographical Location and Stage of Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. Vol.27(3). 1357-1383. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2016.0102 ISSN: 1548-6869
Included in
Health Services Research Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Oncology Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Women's Health Commons
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2017 Meharry Medical College. This article first appeared in Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 27:3 (2016), 1357-1384. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.