Abstract 986: Factors contributing to health disparities among minority women: Unique breast cancer experience in the Inland Empire, CA

Statement of purpose: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Despite scientific gains, not all segments of the U.S. population have benefited from advances in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Although breast cancer mortality has declined by 31% in California, age-adjusted mortality rates are significantly higher in women from the Inland Empire (IE) compared to the California average for 2003-2007, and were particularly high for non-Hispanic Black women. Roughly, 2 million women live in the IE, which spans over 27,000 square miles. The female population includes 43% Hispanics, 41% non-Hispanic Whites, 7.2% non-Hispanic Blacks and 5.4% Asian Pacific Islanders. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the unequal burden of breast cancer among minority women in the IE and to use this information to help reduce breast cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality. Methodology: Two data sets were analyzed, a convenience sample of 230 African American (AA) breast cancer survivors and volunteers from the IE and a random sample of 107 AA breast cancer patients, survivors and advocates from the IE who participated in a descriptive analytic study that evaluated knowledge, attitudes and practices toward breast cancer clinical trial participation. Data was analyzed in SPSS 16.0. Data on breast cancer statistics was obtained from the 11th and 14th Desert Sierra Cancer Surveillance Program (DSCSP) of the Region 5 of the California Cancer Registry and the IE affiliate of Susan G Komen for the Cure 2009 Community Profile Report. More than 90% of the DSCSP women are from the IE. Results: The 2003-2007 age adjusted mortality rate for invasive breast cancer was 25.4 for the IE women, which is significantly higher than the California average of 22.8. The death rate for DSCSP Black women was 34.3 compared to 27 for White women. Approximately 11.6% of households in the IE had income below poverty level and 24% of females, mostly African American and Latina, aged16-64 were uninsured. Approximately 60% of the respondents were not educated about breast health and among women 40 and over, 71% did not have a mammogram in the last year. TV/media news coverage, mostly from the Los Angeles area, was a poor local health educational tool. Nearly 80% of the women were willing to participate in breast cancer clinical trials but were not given opportunities to do so. Conclusion: The incidence and mortality patterns, combined with poverty, lack of medical insurance and breast health education reveal the tragedy produced by a failure to detect breast cancer in the early stage in AA and Latina women in the IE. The pattern of lower risk of pre-invasive and invasive breast cancer accompanied by higher risk of death from breast cancer are consistent with a failure to provide early detection and state-of-the art treatment for this target population. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 986.